by Ann Tweedy
dr. phil is not a person
so much as the idea of one
glib about the most
intractable problems,
subtly insulting the cutter,
bemoaning the example
she provides her children
as though guilt might save her
might save us
he claims he can cure her
as well as the racist who hates
his half-black unborn grandchild
in a visit or two
but he needs them and us to keep up
that imaginary boundary
to track that spurious dichotomy.
Over eighty of Ann Tweedy’s poems have been published in journals such as Gertrude, Rattle, Damselfly Press, Wisconsin Review, and Clackamas Literary Review, and she has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her chapbook Beleaguered Oases is forthcoming from TcCreativePress in Los Angeles. Originally from Massachusetts, she currently lives in San Diego.
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