Splenda Poem by Tate Blackman

Honey bring me love
Take me to my mind
Crack my brain into two
Pour milk and tea into my figure
Make me twist into shapes I have never known
Carry me into fluorescent cityscape
Make sweetness to the heart
Spread me like butter


Men
They will break your legs
Twist them back
Hold them down
Until screams turn to
Yes please
Give me more sugar
Make my tea sweeter


Women
They change the mind
Make it see every shade between pink
Their eyes dance shadows
Backwards in your soul
Turn meows into purrs
Bring me more
Steep my flavor


I wear suites like the candy man carries trolleys
My mother always taught me to bring an extra sweater on the road
But she didn't know how my fight could kill a man
Every night before bed she would tuck me in
Tell me to hold heart and think
To say goodnight to man in my closet
To say goodnight to the spirits around this land
But now in my own bed I carry my hands above the world's head
My mother sits in a small box whispering decisions
Hello apartment
Hello mommy
Listen
Listen
Silence
However I wear pride thick around me neck
So tears don't escape
My mother used to hold me back
Keep me sheltered
I broke her down
Vaguely I watched



I could never begin to understand
The way humans turn a blind eye
Preach and pray
Sing songs along with pastors
Pretend they understand
Think they are helping
But in the end
They figure
Saving is for God


Color is the beginning
It came before Adam and eve
Stood before the atoms
Helped break down the dinosaurs
Said with not a single bit of trepidation
I am the man
The one who will bring light again
He came with no warning
Twisting the mind to forget me
Making artists into construction men
Color stood before him
But now he stands trying to crowd it into corners