empathy
by Asha Futterman
my favorite place
was destroyed by barack obama
he’s building a library
in my neighborhood in the grass
where i liked to sit
and watch my dogs play
i would have protested
but the grass didn’t have a name
it was in the shape of a circle
though so i called it the circle garden
now it’s called the obama center
they always need to give a field
a body and a face
so they can empathize with it
don’t you think that’s dangerous
don’t you think it’s dangerous
to be naked where someone could see you
i ask arman while he pees in the woods
arman says maybe
communities should be three hundred people
we can give three hundred people
a name and an argument
so if we don’t want anyone
in our community to be disposable
we should live in a place that small
but i like chicago
i want a neighborhood with everything
the construction crew found a noose
on the site of the obama center
i google image searched
and someone took a photo
that zooms in on an almost clear plastic bag
with a noose in it
the construction company is black-owned
and offered $100,000 to anyone
with information about the incident
there are some things
we will never understand about each other
i would never let the trees see my body
i tell arman
it might give them pleasure