by Mary Saracino
She’s a woman. But don’t mention it.
He’s African-American. But mum’s the word.
Eyes wide shut we stare down the twin
barrels of gender and race, as if sexism & racism
weren’t still festering in the good ole USA ,
as if our country were able to drop the façades
of genitalia and color, cut through the
veneer of differences to cull courageous truths.
By what means will we unravel the bigotry,
liberate our indentured spirits?
What will it take to champion a real change of heart,
heed the songs of truth-telling tongues?
When will we venture deeper than skin-deep,
embrace the spiral DNA-dance of X or Y
in all its life-sustaining combinations?
When will we trust what our souls see
& rely less on our world-weary eyes?
Mary Saracino is a novelist, poet and memoir-writer who lives in Denver , CO . Her most recent novel, The Singing of Swans (Pearlsong Press 2006) was a 2007 Lambda Literary Awards Finalist. Her short story, "Vicky's Secret" earned the 2007 Glass Woman Prize.