NEGATION - Jeremiah Eames Rankin Poems

 
 

Poems » jeremiah eames rankin » negation

NEGATION

      Le nègre negated, meagre, c'est moi:
Denigrated, negative, a local
Caliban, unlikable and disliked
(Slick black bastard -– cannibal -– sucking back
Licorice-lusty, fifty-proof whisky),
A rusty-pallor provincial, uncouth
Mouth spitting lies, vomit-lyrics, musty,
Masticated scripture. Her Majesty's
Nasty, Nofaskoshan Negro, I mean
To go out shining instead of tarnished,
To take apart Poetry like a heart.
      So my black face must preface your finish,
Deface your religion -- unerringly,
Niggardly, like some film noir blackguard's.