Poetic Justice (5)

By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr.

A tragic irony

that is neither

so tragic

nor ironic...

at SUNY-Stonybrook,

they rolled out

a plush

red carpet

to welcome you

with pomp;

you would later,

with disdain,

compose an off-beat

song in return:

it was typical of you,

all right,

the finicky waif...

yes,

for treating you

like the prince

you would shortly

turn out

not to deserve,

you composed

an off-beat and

off-color song

of morbid

ungratefulness,

cursing your kindly

hosts for making you

a sacred cow,

burning bridges

for those to come

after you -

incurable ingrate

that you were,

you wouldn't spare

the ugly urge of

paying back a

pinch of salt

with a bag of

chilis...

and so

like a blind pig,

you trampled

and spattered

the blood of

Malcolm and

King over

puddles of

your pees -

too full of

yourself and

your own

self-importance,

you refused

to pay homage

to those who had

come and gone

before you,

who had dearly

paved and paid

your passage

with their blood -

ran round-robin

rings around

the names

and memories

of those

on whose

broad backs

you mounted

the coll

and blasted

your horn -

10/7/13