So just a bit ago, Adriel and I visited Newark High to get spoken-word-dummy-wit-it along with some of the dopest youth in the East Bay. But of course, an amazing group of youth is greatly influenced by their teachers, and teachers like iLL-Homie Cathlin Goulding is responsible for encouraging such a respectful, open space for learning. And you best believe she was dope enough to include some crucial discussions such as Black and Asian Conflict in her lessons, calling forth some members of iLL-Literacy- quite possibly your favorite (err, only) black and asian superhero poets. Yadadai! -rvc

The Ballad of John and Yoko

It is a question of white men and their earwax,

my mother tells me in confidence while

my father with his growing paunch

begins to sing

over his frozen

peas:
In the middle of a dream...


My mother listens to the

noises in my blood.

I confess I have seen her:

sloshing through koi ponds

lily pads sticking to her knees

solemnly crumbling oreo cookies while

my father calls out to her:

I have loved the manner in which

rain and pear tree branches interrupt

your face.

I was the one who left her

sitting alone

while taking communion.

I cannot help but follow her through

frozen food aisles

through dried noodles and

pounded rice sleeves.

I see her in fish tanks like a balloon

floating in the darkness.

To be perfectly frank, my mother continues,

it pains me when you use

words like

miscegenation.

No, she whispers:

I never liked that Yoko Ono anyhow.

So I try to finish what my father’s song:

In the middle of a dream,

In the middle of a bath

In the middle of a shave

In the middle of a cloud—

I am calling her name.