He, Too

Upon my return to the US, he
asks my occupation. Teacher.

What do you teach?
Poetry.

I hate poetry, the officer says,
I only like writing
where you can make an argument.

Anything he asks, I must answer.
This he likes, too.

I don’t tell him
he will be in a poem
where the argument will be

anti-American.

I place him here, puffy,
pink, ringed in plexi, pleased

with his own wit
and spittle. Saving the argument
I am let in

I am let in until

Copyright Credit: Solmaz Sharif, “He, Too” from Customs. Copyright © 2022 by Solmaz Sharif. Reprinted by permission of Graywolf Press, www.graywolfpress.org.
Source: Customs (Graywolf Press, www.graywolfpress.org, 2022)