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)