Nothing is Affirmative

A news response poem

“You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race and then say, ‘You are free to compete with all the others,’ and still justly believe that you have been completely fair.” 

– President Lyndon Johnson, June 4, 1965 


Sound of a gunshot. The line 
is drawn. Start here. Go. Now. 

We invite you to step up. Untrained, 
unchained, one hand behind your back, 
noose around your neck, dragging 
the weight of history behind you. Run 
for your life, your race, your gender. 
Prove your worth, speak for everyone, 
represent. 

Do not fail, do not flail, do not 
complain. Speak up, quiet down. 
Be smart, not too smart, smile, 
but not too wide. Whatever you do, 
do not be angry. Know your place, 
stay in your space, pull yourself up 
by your bootstraps. Be a miracle. 

Here it is: The playing field. 
Can’t you see how green it is? 
So lush, so manicured, so level, 
open to everyone. So, step up. 
We invite you. Start here. 
Sound of a gunshot.

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I am proud to be a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please consider reading and supporting our members:

Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights

Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll

Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines

Stephanie Copley: It Was Never a Dress, Johnston

Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake

Suzanna de Baca Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley

Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County

Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji

Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames

Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines

Nik Heftman, The Seven Times, Los Angeles and Iowa

Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilla

Dana James: New Black Iowa, Des Moines

Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo

Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames

Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey

LettersfromIowans, Iowa

Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa

Darcy Maulsby: Keepin’ It Rural, Lake City

Kurt Meyer, Showing Up, St. Ansgar

Wini Moranville, Wini’s Food Stories, Des Moines

Kyle Munson, Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines

Jane Nguyen, The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines

John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines

Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines

Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics: Behind the Curtains, Washington, D.C.

Dave Price: Dave Price’s Perspective, Urbandale 

Macey Spensley, The Midwest Creative, Davenport and Des Moines

Larry Stone, Listening to the Land, Elkader

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices, Kalona

Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County

Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport

Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines

We are also proud to be associated with Iowa Capital Dispatch and encourage you to support their work.

https://iowacapitaldispatch.com

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Do you know about the Okoboji Writing Retreat? It is an amazing three day retreat full of workshops, many of which are taught by Iowa Writers Collaborative members. There are still a few spaces available!

https://okobojiwritersretreat.com