Her Majesty's Labour

Until further notice
all humans when born

either emerge
from vaginas
or are cut out of people
with vaginas
(vaginae
if we're being technical).

So
to clarify

a poor woman
can still give birth

and though the world
may not
be watching

it happens.

A rich man
cannot.

This poem © 2013 Emily Cooper.

G.O. Family

(Apologies to Wendy Davis and Sister Sledge)

Li'l Texan Wendy
Why sis'
you diss GOP?

Li'l single Wendy
let us be
your wedding ring.

Everyone knows they go together
pro-life and human rights.

(Why)
do we ignore when guns
shoot whoever?
We won't tell no lie

all those lib'rals
lapsed right-wingers
say "Can they be that close?"
Just let us state for the record

we'll decide which rights matter most.

This poem © 2013 Emily Cooper.

Snowd-In

We regret to inform you
that we have not
as of yet
decided what to call
Edward Snowden's leaks
of the United States'
mass surveillance programs.

Tragically
we wasted
"Snowmageddon"
on that stupid blizzard
earlier this year.

Rest assured
you will be
immediately informed
when that decision is made.

Signed
the Media.

This poem © 2013 Emily Cooper.

Why'd They Change It

(Apologies to Jimmy Kennedy and Nat Simon)

Istanbul or Constantinople
Call it Istanbul
not Constantinople
If you feel wronged in Constantinople
get in a Turkish fight on a moonlit night

Every one in Constantinople
lives in Istanbul
not Constantinople
so if you want change in Constantinople
go and protest in Istanbul

In Mumbai
New York
Iran and Birmingham
reasons change
but we can say
"People just want it
better some way."

So go on back to Constantinople
but please be careful
in Constantinople
around the world
not just Constantinople
"Why do these police all act like jerks?"
That's nobody's business but ...

Abdullah's.

This poem © 2013 Emily Cooper.

Monday, Monday Raise Up

(With apologies to the Mamas and the Papas and Native NC Rapper Petey Pablo)

Moral Monday
good ol' NC
Moral Monday
means a chance for democracy
Voting rights
community freedom we are guaranteed
Next Moral Monday
won't you please stand here with me.

This one's for...
North Carolina
come on and
raise up.

North Carolina
come on and
raise up.

This one's for who?
Us
Us
Us.

This poem © 2013 Emily Cooper.

Rescue Me (Ode to OK Senator Tom Coburn)

(With apologies to Fontella Bass)

Rescue me
Tom take me in your arms

rescue me
from this godawful storm

if my food stamps
make you blue

take those too
hope that will do

Come on and rescue me

Come on Tommy
and rescue me
Come on Tommy
and rescue me

'cause I need you by my side
then feel free to ignore me.

Rescue me
I'll close my greedy hands

get a third job
I know I can

Tom I love you
Tom I want you
then feel free to ignore me.

This poem © 2013 Emily Cooper.

Stealing Home

Welcome back
Amanda
Gina
and Michelle.

Women
and girls
boys
and men

they want to be
free.

Maybe that means

people everywhere
just want
to go home.

This poem © 2013 Emily Cooper.

Update Cycle

What's breaking news to one
may be another's
ancient history.

Good night
not goodbye

they say on TV
(or used to anyway)

because there will
surely be more
news tomorrow.

This poem © 2013 Emily Cooper.

On The Ground

A female soldier
pleaded guilty
to two counts of desertion
after fleeing to Canada
in 2007 
to avoid a second tour
of duty in Iraq

the desert.

She said she had become
"disillusioned"

but Canada's not sure
whether to give
her a home
because for this war

(unlike that little one
in the 60s)

she decided to enlist
voluntarily

which of course
is true.

Right?

This poem © 2013 Emily Cooper.

Democracy Will Hear You Now

Wait your turn
nervous half-listening
rehearsing
They see you
whoops not yet... Okay go now
you speak they listen.

This poem © 2013 Emily Cooper.

Between Us And Them

Detectives discovered
a rusted piece of landing gear
wedged between
an apartment building
and a mosque

and believed to be a remnant
of one of the hijacked planes
from
September 11 2001.

Back then this country
had lots of questions

like who did this
and why

all of which
needed to be asked but

the first question to answer

was and is "Who do we
want to be?"

This poem © 2013 Emily Cooper.

Left To Their Own Devices

The House Intelligence Committee reported
that the two bombs
at the Boston marathon
were detonated with a remote control
for toy cars.

Life is but a video game?

This poem © 2013 Emily Cooper.

Havens Addresses a Complex Issue

In 1990
before a show
at the Cellar Door
Richie Havens let the audience know
what he told someone who asked
how he felt about Washington.

"What a good question.
what a good question

so I said
'Washington's groovy'

that's what I said
and it is.

For Romans."

This poem © 2013 Emily Cooper.

Experimental Design

Today the Grand Old
Party proves Constitution
is just a theory.

This poem © 2013 Emily Cooper.

Below and Beyond

Fox News
Fair and Balanced

does not mean
what you think it means

having a hot blonde bombshell
use one person and one fact
to casually imply

that becoming a devout Muslim
should have been
a clear indicator
of a future in bombing
unsuspecting New Englanders

and a man
with a trustworthy cropped haircut
saying "Yes, I agree."

Perhaps you were led astray
by the word "story".

This poem © 2013 Emily Cooper.

We're Already In It

It's a little-known fact
that starting
each Spring

you can track
the increasing liberalization
and "worldliness"
of Southern Baptist churches.

Over the decades
one will note
there's been a steady increase
in pastors who

glistening and bright red
and deep
into a lively
sermon of hellfire
and damnation

every line
on their face and hands
dedicated to making it feel
all too real

are able
to calm down
a bit
wipe off the sweat

stop
and say

"Well maybe
some of the Devil's wrath
made it up here too.

Whew!"

This poem © 2013 Emily Cooper.

Just Us

Can the world really be
just humans versus
other humans

perpetually at war
or battle or skirmish

on the ground
in the air
within ourselves?

We are the humans
with feelings spent
beyond sorrow beyond rage
towards what other humans
do.

Sometimes it seems
like that silence
is a spectator

showing us how
to carry the burden

but that would be too easy.

This poem © 2013 Emily Cooper.

Another Day in the Neighborhood

It's impossible
to know each number
in a sequence

another
fill in x number hurt killed
for another senseless y tragedy.

You can wake up
each morning
and grow numb
with numbers. 
 
Look for the helpers
said Nancy
to her son Fred

You will always find
the people who are helping.

This poem © 2013 Emily Cooper.

Strength in Numbers

The word
infestation.

Can it be rebranded
as a good thing?

Protective cells
that swarm

to protect and repair
their host. 

This poem © 2013 Emily Cooper.

Un-Broken Man

In a few short days
the Kool-Aid "man"
will be unveiling
his 2013 image

a down-to-earth
computer-generated celebrity.

This citizen remembers
when the commercials
changed from

a gentle picnic
on a warm spring day
with a little folk ditty
playing in the background
   
to an obese pitcher
busting through a wall
to offer the contents
of his glass torso
to the happy little kids.

This citizen remembers thinking
"Why didn't he break?"

This poem © 2013 Emily Cooper.