Published 11 June 2009 · Main Posts h1n1, the pandemic (a poem) Maxine Beneba Clarke cause let’s face it rich white folk mostly die of heart attacks / not aids & in our world bored teenagers rope red necks / for thrills & accidentally asphyxiate in black suspender lace / they strap body smack & traffic white lines / to fall before some firing squad on a sandy thai— ok / for real / i’ll just say it: h1n1 is not a plague a pandemic is the fate of small namibian girls when russian gun runners arm hungry knock-kneed boys on the tattered african corners where a dozen ream of bullets cost less than a tin-can toy ok / so / for real let me just say (with all due respect for the dead) h1n1 is not a pandemic h1n1 is two weeks in bed h1n1 is not a pandemic that’s right / i said will some brown mama scrape her own thigh flesh to feed a broken eyed babe with screaming shrink-wrapped ribs / because watch out h1n1 is here / will congalese militia rape every female in the village / grandmother with child / child or not / will government soldiers machete out the eyes of princesses who weep too much / because h1n1 i mean / fuck / a pandemic is twelve-year old chinese sweat shop slaves for david jones designer boxers h1n1 is three months away from being a flu shot / was mexico’s problem / till some new york accountant’s daughter didn’t wake up / h1n1 has crossed the borders the real hysteria is & i don’t mind saying it: h1n1 / will not discriminate scales the high rise office blocks of respecta—first world folk ladies & gentleman the problem straight: h1n1 / the pandemic does not recognise hate h1n1 / the pandemic is secular / interracial dangerous & goddamn we need to vaccinate Maxine Beneba Clarke Maxine Beneba Clarke is an Australian author and slam poet of Afro- Caribbean descent. Her short fiction collection Foreign Soil won the 2015 ABIA Award for Best Literary Fiction and the 2015 Indie Award for Best Debut Fiction, and was shortlisted for the Stella Prize. Her memoir, The Hate Race, her poetry collection Carrying the World, and her first children’s book, The Patchwork Bike, will be published by Hachette in late 2016. More by Maxine Beneba Clarke › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays 8 November 20248 November 2024 · Poetry Announcing the final results of the 2024 Nakata Brophy Prize for Young Indigenous Writers Editorial Team After careful consideration, judges Karen Wyld and Eugenia Flynn have selected first place and two runners-up to form the final results of this year’s Nakata Brophy Prize! 4 October 202418 October 2024 · Main Posts Announcing the Nakata Brophy Prize for Young Indigenous Writers 2024 longlist Editorial Team Sponsored by Trinity College at the University of Melbourne and supporters, the Nakata Brophy Prize for Young Indigenous Writers, established in 2014 and now in its ninth year, recognises the talent of young Indigenous writers across Australia.
