Poetry

SD photo

By

Ben White

Sleeping Well

(Gangster Demand)

The president

Came back from Singapore

And told the country

There was no more

Nuclear threat

On the Korean Peninsula

And that Americans

Could sleep well at night

This week

During follow-up negotiations

About denuclearization,

The Secretary of State

Was asked if he had

Slept well –

A common nicety –

To which he replied,

“Yes,”:

And “thank you.”

But then it came up again

To give him another chance,

A question beyond nicety,

Looking for certainty,

“After our talks yesterday,

You could still sleep well?

“Yes,” he said again,

Not picking up on the nuance

Between what the president

Told the nation

And the North Koreans hinting

That the Secretary

Like all other Americans

Had no reason

To sleep well

At all.

Ben White

Author of the books, Buddha Bastinado Blues and The Kill Gene, Ben White thought he was a poet, only to find out he is not a poet at all. He is a witness. What he writes is testimony.