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