Poem

San Francisco poet Daphne Gottleib — whose work I recommend all around — knocks one out of the park.

to prove that I was someone

   (December 12, 2005)

Dare I take
	My tattoo
the master-slave connection
	my tattoo
a step further
	is a rebel flag,
to point out
	a rebel flag
to point out
	roughly 3"x5"
that many people
	on my lower back
many people
	Having known people
of all races and ethnicities
	that had enlisted in the military
have allowed themselves
	enlisted in the military
to be
	with tattoos
modern-day slaves
	with tattoos
	such as swastikas, iron crosses, etc.
Indeed, a person does not have to
	etc.  I though it wouldn't
be black
	cause a problem.
to exhibit a slave mentality.
	Apparently though, it has.
Unwittingly, too many of us —
	The Army, the Air Force, and the Marines
and it does not matter whether we are black
	the army
asian
	the air force
chicano
	and the marines
or white
	have told me
or white
	that any tattoo to
perpetuate “the Master's will”
	considered racist or sexist
through our own self-hatred
	will keep you from enlisting in the military
and destructive behavior.
	Is this some new policy since 9/11?
For those individuals who are in denial,
	Is there anything I can do?
for those individuals who are in denial,
	I am 17 and have
here are some recognizable signs of
	a future ahead of me
self perpetuation of slave behavior:
	I have come from
be it
	the bottom of society
in prison
	and worked my entire life
in prison
	to prove that I was someone
or
	to prove that I was someone
in society
	who was capable of status
in society
	other than white trash.
	Somebody please help me out.

---

All text in left column by Stanley “Tookie” Williams, “My Letter to Incarcerated Youth No. 2”. Tookie Williams was executed by the State of California on December 13, 2005.

All text in right column by a writer identified as “dingo the CGP” on the Legal Issues forum of Stormfront White Nationalist Community at http://www.stormfront.org/forum/showthread.php?t=121583 posted on March 13, 2004, found after a search on Tookie’s execution offered a link to the Stormfront page.

Daphne Gottlieb, December 12, 2005. This poem was finished at midnight.

Ms. Gottleib says “it is absolutely fine to point to this piece or redistribute as long as ‘authorship’ is credited to me and no money is garnered from its reproduction.”