Clara B. Jones
...my cat was stolen...
...besides I am a native informant
who switched from black to colored
after my cat was stolen by my friend Jamal
who studies math at Phoenix U
where his online teacher told him he can write his own ticket.
My cat slept on my chest and purred
unless she drank hemp milk after nine
and lay on the couch licking my Barbie® doll wearing the dress I sewed for her
from my black leggings that were always too tight after I washed them in hot water.
The dress was easier to make than the lace shirt I sewed for Ken® before my cat bit his left leg off.
Jamal brought me two slices of pizza
and I ate them after scraping off the cheese
since I am a vegan
though I like pepperoni more than any other topping
but my cat preferred extra anchovy.
I was never good at math so I majored in Gender Studies at Spelman
but the only job I found was at the clinic where black girls go for free formula
and to see their friends once a week.
Jamal asked me to have his baby
but I want to wait until he's in graduate school
since I quit my job and learned to make pizza with soy cheese
that tastes better than no cheese at all.
I still eat pepperoni
but as they say: Everything in moderation.
Clara B. Jones is a retired scientist, currently practicing poetry in Silver Spring, MD (USA). As a woman of color, she writes about the “performance” of identity, alienation, and power and conducts research on experimental poetry. She is author of two chapbooks, and her poems, reviews, essays, and interviews have appeared or are forthcoming in numerous venues.
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...my cat was stolen...
...besides I am a native informant
who switched from black to colored
after my cat was stolen by my friend Jamal
who studies math at Phoenix U
where his online teacher told him he can write his own ticket.
My cat slept on my chest and purred
unless she drank hemp milk after nine
and lay on the couch licking my Barbie® doll wearing the dress I sewed for her
from my black leggings that were always too tight after I washed them in hot water.
The dress was easier to make than the lace shirt I sewed for Ken® before my cat bit his left leg off.
Jamal brought me two slices of pizza
and I ate them after scraping off the cheese
since I am a vegan
though I like pepperoni more than any other topping
but my cat preferred extra anchovy.
I was never good at math so I majored in Gender Studies at Spelman
but the only job I found was at the clinic where black girls go for free formula
and to see their friends once a week.
Jamal asked me to have his baby
but I want to wait until he's in graduate school
since I quit my job and learned to make pizza with soy cheese
that tastes better than no cheese at all.
I still eat pepperoni
but as they say: Everything in moderation.
Clara B. Jones is a retired scientist, currently practicing poetry in Silver Spring, MD (USA). As a woman of color, she writes about the “performance” of identity, alienation, and power and conducts research on experimental poetry. She is author of two chapbooks, and her poems, reviews, essays, and interviews have appeared or are forthcoming in numerous venues.
