Swans Commentary »
September 11, 2006
by Laura Madeline Wiseman
Poetry
(Swans - September 11, 2006)
At the dinner party a man is belying
the prostitutes and the drug pushers
for evading taxes but with a flat tax
they'd have to pay like the rest of us.
It takes me at least twenty minutes
to hear what he's saying because
the jargon is deliciously seductive
Equality! Us vs. Them! Criminals!
like I've entered a conversation late
so I'm mulling over the punch lines
endlessly because I missed the joke.
He's at it again over the homeless
who magically drink pop instead of
beer when the cops finally arrive.
I have to admit he has nice eyes
girl eyes that linger just long enough
I feel my heart tug gently charmed.
But eventually I cut him off. I do!
a woman at a midwest dinner party
to ask if I can meet his super smart
criminal friends. The whores and
drug addicts alluding uncle sam.
I want to be taught a thing or two
because it's obviously the sluts
who've got all the tricks when us
poor white middle class educated
people get fucked over and over.
It is here the husband says goodbyes
and I, not a bit drunk, am giggling
at what a bitch I am, how rude and
apologize saying next time I'll behave.
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Internal Resources
Poetry
America the 'beautiful'
About the Author
Laura Madeline Wiseman is an adjunct professor at the University of
Arizona. Her works have appeared in 13th Moon, The Comstock Review,
Paper Street, and other publications. She is an editor for IntheFray and
Empowerment4Women.
Legalese
Please, feel free to insert a link to this work on your Web site or to disseminate its URL on your favorite lists, quoting the first paragraph or providing a summary. However, please DO NOT steal, scavenge, or repost this work on the Web or any electronic media. Inlining, mirroring, and framing are expressly prohibited. Pulp re-publishing is welcome -- please contact the publisher. This material is copyrighted, © Laura Madeline Wiseman 2006. All rights reserved.
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This Edition's Internal Links
The Importance Of Remembering Things Past - Martin Murie
The Insurgent Word: Incursion - Gerard Donnelly Smith
Ecstasy Of Blindness - Gilles d'Aymery
Blowback From Shock And Awe - Philip Greenspan
September 11, Nineteen Eighty-Four - Jan Baughman
The Catastrophic Illusion Of Sustainability - Milo Clark
Honni Soit Qui Malibu - Charles Marowitz
Free Time - Short Story by Peter Byrne
Prince Charming And Cinderella's Stepfather - Karen Moller
Why Scotland Needs A Referendum On Independence - Joe Middleton
Blips #40 - From the Martian desk - Gilles d'Aymery
Letters to the Editor
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