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WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS
Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars;
see that ye not be troubled;
for all these things must come to pass, but the end is
not yet
—Matthew 24:6
1.
I escape the horrors of war with a towel and a room
Offering myself to Palestinian and Jewish boys as a
'piece' to the Middle East
when I should be concerned with the untimely deaths of
dark-skinned babies
and the brutal murders of light-skinned fathers
2.
I've been more consumed with how to make the cover of
local fag rags
than how to open the minds of angry little boys
trotting loaded guns
Helpless in finding words that will stop the blood
from spilling like secrets into soil where great
prophets are buried
3.
I return to the same spaces where I once dealt drugs
a celebrated author gliding past velvet ropes
while my club kid friends are mostly dead from an
overdose or HIV-related symptoms
Marilyn wears the crown of thorns
while 4 out of the 5 weapons used to kill Columbine
students
had been sold by the same police force that came to
their rescue
Not all terrorists have features too foreign to be
recognized in the mirror
Our mistakes are our responsibility
4.
The skyline outside my window is the only thing that
has changed
Men still rape women and blame them for their
weaknesses
Children are still molested by the perversion of
Catholic guilt
My ex-boyfriend still takes comfort in the other white
powder-
the one used solely to destroy himself and those
around him
Not the one used to ignite and create carnage or
mailbox fear
5.
It is said when skin is cut, and then pressed
together, it seals
but what about acid-burned skulls engraved with the
word 'faggot',
a foot bone with flesh and other crushed body parts
6.
It was a gay priest that read last rites to
firefighters as towers collapsed
It was a gay pilot that crashed a plane into
Pennsylvania fields
It was a gay couple that was responsible for the
tribute of light in memory of the fallen
Taliban leaders would bury them to their necks and
tumble walls to crush their heads
Catholic leaders simply condemn them as perverts
having offered nothing but sin
Queer blood is just rosaries scattered on tile
7.
Heroes do not always get heaven
8.
We all have wings . . . some of us just don't know why
Information about the poet
Emanuel Xavier began performing in 1996, and quickly
achieved the Nuyorican Poet's Café Grand Slam
Championship. His first book, "Pier Queen," was
released in 1997. In 1999, his semi-autobiographical
novel "Christ-Like" was nominated for a Lambda
Literary Award. With the publication of his third
book, "Americano",
Emanuel Xavier considers what it means to be American
- but Latino; Latino - but gay; Nuyorican - but
Ecuadorian; revolutionary - but not an activist.
"Wars and Rumors of Wars" is one of the 35 poems found
in "Americano," published by Suspect Thoughts Press. |