POEM
Sweeping the States
they move in swift on the Swift
Plants in six states & sift
through the faces to separate
the dark from the light
like meat & seat them in
the back of vans packed tight
like the product they pack
& who's to pick up the slack
the black & white can't cut it
so the beef stacks sell single
to feed the pack the flock
who block passages & clog
the cogs of the machine the process
not so swift to give & grant a wish
of a place a stake in the land
handling the steaks for the rest
to take in to sate the mouths
of the stock who have stock
in the business of beef & beef
with the brown who ground them
Source: Poetry (November 2007).
This poem originally appeared in the November 2007 issue of Poetry.
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Jacob Saenz is a graduate of Columbia College, Chicago. His work has appeared in . . . MORE »
