THE MAKING OF A
PROPHET by Corey Van Landingham, from Antidote
for
Adrienne Rich
Keep it small
they said Keep it small
or the city
will form a mouth Be careful
not to say
mouth or world Don’t say
body Drink your coffee Fuck it
There are gum
wrappers on the sidewalk
that reflect
all those predator drones
You can almost
see them see you You
flip your
hair You preen You touch
yourself but
you can never see them They
can always see
you There is a room
full of men
making anything possible It is
the loneliest
thing making up worlds
Watching others
live their little lives Keep
it small the men are telling you Wave to
the sky No
to a bird you are no longer
allowed to
name and may no longer exist
You’ve been
selected for a very particular
task All you have to do is talk and talk
and talk and
not say anything at all This
should be
easy They say that too