"The Making of a Prophet" by Corey Van Landingham

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