Dalit

Let's workshop this bitch!

Dalit 

Your reputation and job prospects
have been ruined by that ideology 
set on making sure that no identity—
well, none on the “to protect” lists—
are unsettled, discomforted. Think,
though, of the freedoms that open 
from your return to the underclass 
out of which you clawed (ironically
by writing the poetry that got you 
cancelled by white progressives, 
the poetry white progressives told you
as a kid would be your ticket upward).

Now you can speak your mind, tell—
former—coworkers they look nice 
(even ask them out). You can do art
on controversial subjects, tell stories 
with “problematic” characters, read 
n-words aloud when quoting Twain.
You can separate art from the artist.
You can take a stand against injustice
(even if that involves opposing a group 
deemed always right). Without fear
of being laid lower, you can do CPR
even on a cop or a white supremacist.

*This poem is unpublished