I Know the World
Untitled (Gold Painting), Robert Rauschenberg, 1953
The Guggenheim, Manhattan
I know the world
not comprehensively
nor exactly
still this is a place
I have travelled through near and through far
I have not been everywhere
but almost anywhere I have been
has provided an occasion
to test my favourite theory
that all people are people
I have encountered mighty demons
aligned against this most evident truth
supposing that some
are more human than others
deserving of more rights, greater deference, higher consideration
Getting ready to do the unspeakable yet again
I feel unarmed against this onslaught
clutching at straws that break in my palm
grasping at sand that slips through my fingers
falling to my knees, apologetically but uselessly.
But still ready, in my hapless way
- to fight.
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