Bakar Wilson

American Logic

They say that here, you can do anything. So, they say. You can come here and sweat, if you want. Dreams are made of what you conquered that day, things you plundered, and whatnot. You have to know what you want; otherwise, you will be pushed to the side, marginalized, maybe, thinking about how you can squeeze your way in without being detained. At this moment, however, a virus rages like hurricanes in a warm ocean; it overtakes bodies and declares them colonized, mostly bodies of color, of course, because that’s the way it goes, the irrational is rational, is spreading disease and poverty amongst its most vulnerable. In America, we vote in our worst interest, we punish the poor. We love the things that destroy us. We have to have everything that others do not. So fulfilling. We want to be filled with all of the materials, grace, and admiration that Jesus will allow us. If you don’t believe in Jesus, you are problematic. Everyone must believe in God, but you must also believe in Jesus and how he lived. We don’t live as Jesus lived. We laud his life as aspirational, and yet continue to shit on others. Oh well, what are you going to do? It’s not my fault. I did the best I could. This isn’t my problem. It’s yours. Maybe someday those people will learn.

Bakar Wilson's debut collection of poetry, Daddy Show, was published by Get Fresh Books and is an adjunct lecturer of English at Borough of Manhattan Community College.