Even Though A Stretch
Lawrence S. Pertillar 1947 (Connecticut)
Even though a stretch to imagine.
If what has become a priority,
Affecting the lives of black people.
As heard every day to irritate and agonize,
The lives of those white.
Would any of this nonsense,
Be repeatedly revisited with no end in sight.
There would be no mention in sight to end.
As if the only news there is has to be,
Dramatically sensational.
Every 10 minutes.
And captivating enough to keep a child's eyes,
Fix, riveted to stare, unblinking, at a TV screen.
While announcing,
Breaking mindblowing Headline News?
About a mother duck stopping traffic.
As her little ducklings waddle across,
A country road somewhere in North Dakota.
With nothing to mention about politicians,
Debating in heated discussions...
Over who flew in a private jet.
At an exorbitant expense,
Only the rich can pay.
That has nothing to do to end,
The aging and crumbling infrastructure.
Hunger and homelessness.
Or wars fought on foreign shores...
Paying billions and billions more.
As if coming out of the pocket,
Of a drunken uncle.
Who has won the lottery for a trillion dollars.
Although 900 billion of it,
Mysteriously disappears to pay taxes.
And not a word is heard,
About who has secretly...
Sickened the health of the economy.
With the keeping up,
Of a kept pretentiousness.
Staying indebted to impressive imitations.
'Okay.
Answer this...
If you were Black,
Wealthy, wise and unlimited to possess...
Anything you wished.
Where would you be, right now?'
'I would stay right where I am now.
Since no one would believe me to be,
Comfortable with my own stupidity.'
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Written on June 24, 2023
Submitted by lpahtillah on June 24, 2023
- 1:34 min read
- 1 View
Quick analysis:
Scheme | XABCDEDFABXCXXXXXXGGXEHFXXXXXBXXXXAAXCG HXXXXI IAA |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,560 |
Words | 314 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 39, 6, 3 |
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"Even Though A Stretch" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/162551/even-though-a-stretch>.
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