Sorry Not Sorry Enough

Sorry Not Sorry Enough

Racism is a cupcake you

Told yourself you didn’t eat

But you did, you did eat that cupcake

You ate the cake and then

You ate the frosting

You licked the wrapper

You put the box back in the fridge

With one cupcake missing

No, it was not delicious

The unearned sweetness

Coats your sharp teeth

Lies on your tongue.

Actually, that was me

I ate the cupcake

Even as I ate it I forgot.

You can’t forgive me for stealing

Everything the cupcake represents

Or shouldn’t even, if you do.

NOTES

*“The typical White family has eight times the wealth of the typical Black family and five times the wealth of the typical Hispanic family,” from “Disparities in Wealth by Race and Ethnicity in the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances,” publication of the Federal Reserve.

**“This is Just To Say,” William Carlos Williams, “Forgive me/They were delicious.” The Poetry Foundation.

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