I Love This Poem

[joyluckboi]

Sure You Can Ask Me A Personal Question

How do you do?
No, I am not Chinese.
No, not Spanish.
No, I am American Indi-uh, Native American.
No, not from India.
No, not Apache.
No, not Navajo.
No, not Sioux.
No, we are not extinct.
Yes, Indian.
Oh?
So thats where you got those high cheekbones.
Your great grandmother, huh?
An Indian Princess, huh?
Hair down to there?
Let me guess. Cherokee?
Oh, so youve had an Indian friend?
That close?
Oh, so youve had an Indian lover?
That tight?
Oh, so youve had an Indian servant?
That much?
Yeah, it was awful what you guys did to us.
Its real decent of you to apologize.
No, I dont know where you can get peyote.
No, I dont know where you can get Navajo rugs real cheap.
No, I didnt make this. I bought it at Bloomingdales.
Thank you. I like your hair too.
I dont know if anyone knows whether or not Cher is really Indian.
No, I didnt make it rain tonight.
Yeah. Uh-huh. Spirituality.
Uh-huh. Yeah. Spirituality. Uh-huh. Mother.
Earth. Yeah. Uhhuh. Uhhuh. Spirituality.
No, I didnt major in archery.
Yeah a lot of us drink too much.
Some of us cant drink enough.
This aint no stoic look.
This is my face.

~Diane Burns