when asked how to avoid being seen as racist: A Poem by Matthew E. Henry

Poetry / By Matthew E. Henry / April 20, 2022 / 1 minute of reading

Two white and brown goats — Photo by BAILEY MAHON on Unsplash

when asked how to avoid being seen as racist

...well, it’s like the old joke about “Fergus
the goat-fucker.” that’s the punchline. he fucked
a wee goat, but laments the moniker’s
accuracy more than his enjoyment
of drunken kid sodomy. I assume
it was only the one time, but something
engorged him—something a stiff pint of Guinness
roused from flaccid slumber, but didn’t conceive.
even the Bible at Fergus’ bedside says
the mouth speaks the heart, though I assume other
appendages follow suit. to answer
your question, those with a legitimate
worry should avoid petting zoos and farms,
or at least keep their zippers closed until
they’ve addressed the wooly desire within.

About The Author

Matthew E. Henry

Matthew E. Henry (MEH) is the author of the poetry chapbooks Teaching While Black (Main Street Rag) and Dust & Ashes (Californios Press). His full-length collection, the Colored page, is forthcoming from Sundress Publications. The editor-in-chief of The Weight Journal, MEH’s recent poetry and prose is appearing or forthcoming in The Florida Review, Massachusetts Review, New York Quarterly, Ploughshares, Poetry East, Shenandoah and Zone 3. MEH’s an educator who received his MFA yet continued to spend money he didn’t have completing an MA in theology and a PhD in education. You can find him at www.MEHPoeting.com writing about education, race, religion, and burning oppressive systems to the ground.