PONDERINGS OF A HALF-DECENT (MAYBE) WHITE MAN

by Michael L. Ruffin

The White Man (1907) by Lyonel Feininger

I'm so very tired
of the injustice.
I wonder how
exhausted I'd be
were I its victim.

I'm so very tired 
of the racism.
I wonder how 
exhausted I'd be 
were I its target.

I'm so very tired 
of the misogyny.
I wonder how 
exhausted I'd be
were I its prey.

I'm so very tired
of the privilege.
I wonder how
exhausted I'd be
were I not its beneficiary.

Michael L. Ruffin is a writer, editor, preacher, and teacher living and working in Georgia. He posts poems on Instagram (@michaell.ruffin) and prose opinions at On the Jericho Road. He is author of Fifty-Seven: A Memoir of Death and Life and  of the forthcoming Praying with Matthew. His poetry has appeared at TheNewVerse.News, 3 Moon Magazine, Rat's Ass Review, and U-Rights Magazine.

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