This is a riff of the Adrian Matejka’s piece, “Haters.”
Haters
What have you done, Cornelius?
Nevermind. We know what you've done:
marrying white, creating a child
of stuttered pigmentation from disco
and chalk. In this state, anyone north
of the Red River is a Yankee- ignorant
of anything pecan and already sweetened.
Cornelius, those same Yanks think
your son is Mexican. One good thing
about Texans: they know their Mexicans.
Your son will still be madhousing bigotry's
matinee, Cornelius. Living in that special
place for the multiple checker of race
boxes, an enabler of exoticism down here.
He will be the man riding the bus
in tux and tie. Some other riders will want
him gone in that gone for good
way even though they are not sure why.
This piece overall reflects how one of a mixed-race was once treated by others in America. In reading this piece, I was reminded of a new character that has been introduced by Disney: Prince Naveen of Maldonia. Maldonia is a fictional country and the prince himself is racially ambiguous. My piece is a riff of “Haters” with Naveen’s ambiguous background as the core of the work. I wanted to try to capture the same essence of bias in the first poem through the prince’s non-existent culture.
Royalty Unknown
What have you done, Maldonia?
No answer, it is already clear
Infesting us with a nothing man
Chestnut-layered from ukuleles
and drumsticks. In this country,
royalty is trampled on—belittled
amongst our melting pot.
Maldonia, your son-prince spreads confusion
He is everything or nothing. Both none and the same. One
thing about Americans: they distinguish selves.
Your child is a cacophony of befuddlement,
Maldonia. Living here, but no where
particular. Malta, Spain, Italy, Islam
Macedonia, Africa the cross-crissing bleeds
bigotry into our nation. He is
charming, and others will envy his nothingness,
it will eventually destroy US.
Take him back Maldonia…for we are not yet ready
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