Archival
M
These lines are about self-destruction, and hence are timelessly relevant. The memories conjured up by these words form an image that appears to me as a sheepish thief having his ears burn with regret and shame as he is on the run–desperate to turn himself in, but even more desperately afraid of the consequences.
Violation
You’re a thief and
I’m a liar
Been climbing hard-
Not getting higher
Let’s turn ourselves in and,
Stop.
One more job and
We can quit
“Point that there,
It’s not me we hit.”
This mask is
Keeping me from breathing
I do confess,
I want being.
I don’t want anything
To do with those thieves!
But don’t you see, I’ve been
Implicated. I’ve been
Conscripted, I’ve been
Violated.
And it was my choice.
What?! No subtle “your poetry has shown a marked improvement since you wrote this bit” comments? No snotty-nosed witticisms about cliched rhyming and pedestrianity?
Alas–my readers seem shy at commenting about verse, whether it is good or bad.
I was going to say something about the juvenile humor, but you beat me to it.
“Point that there,
It’s not me we hit.”
He heh.
Actually, I like the simplicity. Makes a clear point.
that last line is pretty charged–
really gets to the heart of how some justify crime, racism, welfare, poverty, lack of education–as a matter of choice rather than an entire mechanism of f*cked up american ideology that makes each citizen an implicate.