[Poem and photo by Sergio Ortiz]
It’s no longer Build the Wall
or Lock Her Up, now it’s Shoot the Bitch
and Hang the Nigger.
Outbursts, newsworthy metaphors,
one more fire under Nowhere Bridge,
a contemptible distraction
to my support of The Water Protectors?
I’m done listening to loudspeakers
announce our descent into hell. It’s a show
of strength to be a woman,
a successful black man. Why run
through the corridors
of the West Wing cherry-picking slogans
for a lynch mob?
[Please welcome Sergio Ortiz, a Puerto Rican poet and the founding editor of Undertow Tanka Review. He is a two time Pushcart nominee, a four time Best of the Web nominee, and a 2016 Best of the Net nominee. His poems have been published in hundreds Journals and Anthologies. He is currently working on his first full length collection of poems, Elephant Graveyard.]
I can’t say enough good things about this piece. I am looking forward to reading more of Sergio’s work. I love the photo. And I love the brave ones!
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Sergio, welcome. You are a brilliant voice saying all the right things, I am so proud that your voice is representing this collective. This piece cuts to the quick of things, startling, stunning, perfect.
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Your urgency and rage is breathes life into this. Wow.
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