"FACINGFACES 2002 - 04" SELECTED POETRY

TEACH BOYS THAT MEN DO SUCH THINGS

count the bodies, count the bruises, hairs, limbs
numbers of numbers equal to nothing

dirt in a mouth, pebbles over eyes, each hair crawling away
scream-echoes in the desert night shiver the stars

10,000 children, 10,000 sisters, 10,000 mothers
their blood a rust on the sands of the desert

in the dark city, a man with darkness stalks
a shadow with a face of light - his eyes, his money

or a gang of wild boys, keepers of chaos
lost in their dark fantasy, locked in that reality

prayers for those women, cries for revenge, justice
poems about violence written in blood

since woman first took root in a garden
the lessons were always for the sons

if the boy knows the slap, he calluses
if he learns the caress, he flourishes

teach boys that men do such things
teach boys to sing and dance under the moon



Gene Keller
USA
copyright 2002