Notes on My Present: A Contrapuntal
With statements by President Donald Trump
I write my body, as border between
We have some bad hombres here
this rock & the absence of water.
& we’re going to get them out.
I cut myself with a scimitar,
When Mexico sends its people,
as political documentation.
they’re not sending their best.
How do you write about the violence
They’re not sending you.
of every man you’ve ever loved?
They’re sending people
Macho, you
that have lots of problems
breathe bright in the neocolony,
& they’re bringing those problems to us
a problem of Empire pulling
They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing
the capitalist threads of my border.
crime. They’re rapists.
Empire: you were so sterile
Mexico’s court system [is]corrupt.
& shiny with your dead man’s coins
I want nothing to do with Mexico
& castration, your white roses
other than to build an impenetrable
& that trash bag full of a Mexican
WALL & stop them from ripping
woman’s dark hair. Empire: you
off U.S. I love the Mexican people,
made us hungry for the glint
but Mexico is not our friend.
of machismo, the dim glare
They’re killing us at the border
of marianismo. Tonight on TV,
& they’re killing us on jobs & trade.
muted montages of the largest
FIGHT! Happy #CincodeMayo!
ICE raid in Texas. I drink
The best taco bowls are made
pink champagne in a hotel bar,
in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics!
& correct the pronunciation of my name.