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American Sonnet for My Past and Future Assassin [Even the most kindhearted white woman]

Terrance Hayes

1971 –

Even the most kindhearted white woman,

Dragging herself through traffic with her nails

On the wheel & her head in a chamber of black

Modern American music may begin, almost

Carelessly, to breathe n-words. Yes, even the most

Bespectacled hallucination cruising the lanes

Of America may find her tongue curls inward,

Entangling her windpipe, her vents, toes & pedals

When she drives alone. Even the most made up

Layers of persona in a two- or four-door vehicle

Sealed in a fountain of bass & black boys

Chanting n-words may begin to chant inwardly

Softly before she can catch herself. Of course,

After that, what is inward, is absorbed.

The 2010 winner of the National Book Award in poetry, Terrance Hayes is the author of seven poetry collections. He currently serves on the Board of Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets.

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What I Am

Fred Sanford's on at 12
& I'm standing in the express lane (cash only)
about to buy Head & Shoulders
the white people shampoo, no one knows
what I am. My name could be Lamont.
George Clinton wears colors like Toucan Sam,
the Froot Loop pelican. Follow your nose,
he says. But I have no nose, no mouth,
so you tell me what's good, what's god,
what's funky. When I stop
by McDonalds for a cheeseburger, no one
suspects what I am. I smile at Ronald's poster,
perpetual grin behind the pissed-off, fly-girl
cashier I love.

Terrance Hayes

1999

We Should Make a Documentary About Spades

And here is all we’ll need: a card deck, quartets of sun people
Of the sort found in black college dormitories, some vintage
Music, indiscriminate spirits, fried chicken, some paper,

A writing utensil, and a bottomless Saturday. We should explore
The origins of a derogatory word like spade as well as the word
For feeling alone in polite company. And also the implications
Of calling someone who is not your brother or sister,

Brother or Sister. So little is known of our past, we can imagine

Terrance Hayes

2017

Lighthead's Guide to the Galaxy

Ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and children of the state,
I am here because I could never get the hang of Time.
This hour, for example, would be like all the others
were it not for the rain falling through the roof.
I’d better not be too explicit. My night is careless
with itself, troublesome as a woman wearing no bra

Terrance Hayes

2010

Poems

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American Sonnet for My Past and Future Assassin [Even the most kindhearted white woman]

More by this poet

What I Am

We Should Make a Documentary About Spades

Lighthead's Guide to the Galaxy

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