after oregon

 

And once again, a white man proves me a burden: an anomaly as decipherable as a western name.

I don’t see a federal building being occupied in Oregon, I see my body.

I see unarmed brown boys

who will never have the honor of militiamen, mapping this country in spilled blood,

whole histories lost in their stifled screams.

 

A cesspool is brewing in these barrels.

We’ve been learning to fear everything,                                    but fear mongering

 

The Bundy beard is a slap in the face, a spit on this pigment,

a reminder that a drop of Palestine has more terrorism than a hundred and fifty gunmen,

fighting for their privilege.

 

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Hazem Fahmy is a poet and critic from Cairo. He is currently pursuing a degree in Humanities and Film Studies from Wesleyan University. His poetry has appeared, or is forthcoming in Mizna, COG and HEArt. In his spare time, he writes about the Middle East and tries to come up with creative ways to mock Classicism. He makes videos occasionally.