Ain’t I Pretty

[wpaudio url=”/audio/8_3/Olson.mp3″ text=”listen to this poem” dl=”0″]

Muhammad Ali been noticing lately
an increase in animals rising up. An increase
in animals acting like they are fed up
with being ate up. Animals acting like
people in the way and the time has come
for us to move. Porpoises raping people.
A stingray stick his tail straight in the heart
of a man petting him. Chimpanzee
rip his neighbor lady’s face off her head.
Like the food chain unlinking itself
to join up some different way again.

Mountain lion eat a jogger. Antelope
wipe out a boy on a bike. A whole rash
of feral chickens roaming New Orleans
and I bet every last one of them
is getting tired of being fried.

Noticing is what Ali’s tasked to do now
and ain’t I pretty while I do it. Man so pretty
ought not to be locked up so tight.
But sitting so pretty, staying so still
always been the way I fight. Fall back
against the ropes and let the world
punch itself out. It lean in close
and you taunt it awhile Done told you
it takes two men to whup me
and you ain’t but one.

Alligator bite a police car. Giant rats
eating cheeks off babies. Kangaroos
rampage, bees going killer.
Elephants trample a whole village
but we still teaching dolphins
how to bomb a submarine.

These are shifting times and nobody
appreciate the man who say so.
But Ali recognize the struggle.
I done stared up what knocked me
down. Ali the one made to see
cause I already know what it feel like
when old bottom rail start to slide up top.