Poetry Report: Ferguson


in hopes that America can stop oppressing its citizens

Poetry Report 8.26.14.jpg

A poem in hopes that America can stop oppressing its citizens and start investing in them instead.

+ + +

The Only Food in Ferguson


Sometimes you just want to give up,
you just want to detach your hand
and let the blood flow out.

Sometimes you want to peel
the top off a pear or an apple,
scoop out the core,
fill the center with blood,
then set the top back on
so all looks normal and bruised
from the outside.

Sometimes you want
to do this with a whole
bowl of fruit.

Sometimes you
want to leave this fruit
for your children.

Actually, there is
never a time you've
wanted to do this,
yet it keeps happening.

+ + +

Header image courtesy of Robin F. Williams. To view a full gallery of her art on NAILED, go here.

Scott Poole

Scott Poole is the House Poet for Live Wire! Radio, a weekly public radio show taped in Portland, OR and broadcast throughout the country. He is the author of three books of poetry, The Cheap Seats, Hiding from Salesmen and, most recently, The Sliding Glass Door (2011, Colonus Publishing). He was also the founding director of Wordstock, the annual Portland, OR book festival.

Previous
Previous

Failing Haus

Next
Next

Response: Secret