Criminal Song
(2025)
Lift that head of lettuce in your hands,
moist and light
in the grocery store,
incriminating and weighty
as exhibit A
in the immigration court.
Lift that head of lettuce in your hands,
taste the nutritious criminality,
the aromatic felony
of the worker that wielded
the sharp knife
of harvest.
Lift that head of lettuce,
spread the leaves across your face
to make the mask
that drags
brown woman,
brown man
into the cage.
Lift that head of lettuce in your hands,
feel the mud and water
drench your clothes and soul,
bend and break
and bend your back again
till you crawl
beneath the burning sun,
breathing wildfire smoke
and chemical choke,
how long can you last
to pick a few thousand more today -
this the harvest of your hate.
