5 poems
Y the Or
Y the or, why
You or I
Yes or no
In or out
Pro or con
Hero or zero
The Y or X
Female or male, or other
Black or white, or other
The one or the other
Left or right
Life or choice
Able or unable
Legal or illegal
Fake or real
Rich or poor, wealthy or not
Paper or plastic
Half full or half empty
It’s true or it’s false
I agree or I disagree
I will or I won’t
My freedom or your freedom
Or fork in the road of Y or Y not
Duet: Aeia e eauiu/i eey oie
O eauiu o aiou ie o ae a o ai
i eey oie a i
o ue ouai aeie aoe e uie ai
i ea a eae i
Aeia Aeia o e i ae o ee
i i e aoie o iey
a o y oo i oeoo o ea o ii ea
e ou eoii ie i a e iei ie
e i eou ou a e oi ea
Barbaracrostics (Racing through Theory)
Black body Black books
Academic alien Artist ally
Reigning reactionary Radical resisted
Biological blueprint Break binary
Attack Africa Affirmation articulated
Repeating repressive Radical reclamation
Authority appalled Another approach
Coopted critics Celebrated creating
Humanists hegemony Hidden hieroglyphs
Repulsive reason Reading riddles
Institutions infiltrated lmagine intersection
Social stereotyping Sensual spiritedness
Theory takeover Theorizing today
Ignore insight Ideas influenced
Abstract assault Activity accelerates
Narrowness narratives Necessary nourishment
Life as a Gringo
The curse of life as a prison guard tormented by a squalor of miscreants.
The capstone of lice as a periwig truncated by a semblance of mediocrity.
The cult of larceny as a pilferer tempted by a surplus of merchandise.
The creaking of leather as a pioneer tanned by a sunbeam of mortality.
The cocaine of lounge lizards as a piñata torched by a swig of mezcal.
The cartoon of Leviathan as a polka dot tricked by a simulacrum of mystery.
The consummation of lust as a primate tickled by a sirocco of metaphors.
The currency of lying as a profiteer tutored by a scholar of monetary policy.
The constancy of ligatures as a predator taunted by a stagflation of multibillionaires.
The cushion of lush life as a pornographer torn by a scalpel of misery.
The costume of legitimacy as a patriot trampled by a skinhead of manifest destiny.
The chemistry of Lilium as a pimple cream test marketed by a skimption of majority.
The curtain of languishing as a pipsqueak telegraphed by a signal of marginality.
Metaphor Bags for Women
What’s a me 2-4? What are you, me twofer?
Turn your tote bag inside out.
Shake up all the junk you got—
loose change, pencils, lipsticks, rings.
Take you off to get a brand
new bag to carry things.
Snatch a one-size sack, all black
faux leather with a sturdy strap.
Matches all your outfits so
anywhere it’s good to go.
What you use your me too for?
Put a bag over your head.
Yeah, that’s what he said.
Harryette Mullen’s books include Recyclopedia (Graywolf, 2006), winner of a PEN Beyond Margins Award, and Sleeping with the Dictionary (University of California, 2002), a finalist for a National Book Award, National Book Critics Circle Award, and Los Angeles Times Book Prize. A collection of essays and interviews, The Cracks Between, was published in 2012 by University of Alabama. Graywolf published Urban Tumbleweed in 2013. A critical edition of her poetry is forthcoming from Edinburgh University Press in 2022. She teaches courses in American poetry, African American literature, and creative writing at UCLA.