Bad Sperm

A circle

Of men

            With the heads of sheep

In a circle

Circle-jerking

            Mechanically

            Together

            In-unison

Is Brotherhood

Is Nation

Is Arms

            Racing toward each other

Is a withered penis

            Being fellated by a

Toothless mouth,

            Gagged and silenced

And forced to swallow

The bitter, slightly-tangy

Battery acid ejaculated by men like

The Texas fratboys laughing out of their SUVs

The blank-faced man peering in through the window

The uncle breathing deep and pushing his fingers in

The father pausing a fraction of a second

            Before walking past the open bedroom door

Is this particular kind of semen an acquired taste

Or some taste we have always known

            Like the taste of milk

            Or sweat

            Or tears

Or is it just something we swallow quickly,

Like bad medicine.

© Jane Park

Published in Experiments in a Jazz Aesthetic: Art, Activism, Academia and The Austin Project, edited by Omi Osun Joni L. Jones, Lisa L. Moore, and Sharon Bridgforth (University of Texas Press, 2010).