{"id":34246,"date":"2013-07-28T21:48:20","date_gmt":"2013-07-28T21:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alternativejonestown.com\/?page_id=34246"},"modified":"2015-11-10T22:10:43","modified_gmt":"2015-11-10T22:10:43","slug":"dascott","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=34246","title":{"rendered":"Two Poems (2012)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Algebra<\/strong><\/center><\/p>\n

He raises his hand to solve for x
\nbut is not selected.<\/p>\n

He rewrites his homework
\nafter working out the equations
\nto make it all look neat.<\/p>\n

He makes the bubbles of his 5s perfectly round
\nlike a globe.<\/p>\n

He is a boy without a Father.<\/p>\n

He can point out Russia on the map
\nand seems to have photographed
\nGeorgetown in his memory.
\nHe\u2019s only been once.<\/p>\n

His eyes are steely;
\nhis teeth almost refuse to stay in the confines of his mouth.
\nAnd he used to love eggs.<\/p>\n

When the solution for x doesn\u2019t give his equation the balance
\nhe needs tonight, he will wet the bed.<\/p>\n

He will learn fear soon enough
\nbut for now he tries hard to be
\na worthy son. Which is never in the lessons.<\/p>\n

He raises his hand again and when he\u2019s selected
\nhe feels pressure in his groin; the pressure that
\nescapes his nights.<\/p>\n

He is a boy without a Father.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

How Today Will Look When It\u2019s History<\/strong><\/center><\/p>\n

14 September 1977<\/em><\/p>\n

Two days ago I turned 28.
\nAnd Steven Biko died in South Africa.<\/p>\n

I am 28 years old, wearing two plaits on either side of my head,
\na kerchief, and denim clam diggers.<\/p>\n

I work in the medical building
\nand one day, I\u2019m going to get a medical degree.
\nInhaling the sterile, new plastic smell of Johnson\u2019s band-aids,
\nscratching my inner ear with Q-tips, and making crafts
\nwith tongue depressors are the best ways
\nto pass another rain storm.<\/p>\n

I could use a good manicure.
\nMy dad would say I need one
\nand a hair cut too. That\u2019s so bourgeois
\nis what I would tell him.
\nBut I agree.<\/p>\n

My ankle itches.<\/p>\n

Today I had rice.
\nThere\u2019s usually rice.
\nAnd I had gravy.<\/p>\n

Since being here I have fallen in love.
\nTwice.
\nDamon \u2013 back in Redwood full of his plans, my careless privilege \u2013
\nwould not believe me.<\/p>\n

In the house, we shared too much he said.
\nToo much to ever give an honest damn about anyone \u2013
\nonly everyone.<\/p>\n

I have no reason for lying and have never found
\nany reasons yet. Maybe one day I will.<\/p>\n

I have two sisters, a brother, and
\nnone of them look like me.
\nSometimes I wish they did.
\nOr I, like them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

(These two poems originally appeared in <\/em>ITCH e. 10, May 2012, and are reprinted with permission.)<\/em><\/p>\n

(Poet darlene anita scott is a regular contributor to <\/em>the jonestown report. Her complete collection of writings and poetry for this site may be found here<\/a>. She can be reached at <\/em>darleneanitascott@gmail.com<\/em><\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Algebra He raises his hand to solve for x but is not selected. He rewrites his homework after working out the equations to make it all look neat. He makes the bubbles of his 5s perfectly round like a globe. He is a boy without a Father. He can point out Russia on the map […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":34357,"menu_order":29,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-34246","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34246"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65371,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34246\/revisions\/65371"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}