Thank you for the positive responses to my “best minds” poem. Bill Zavatsky the leader of the workshop I was taking, dismissed it as political rhetoric not poetry. These two wonderful poems by Adrienne Rich more than answer Mr. Zavatsky.

North American Time
I
When my dreams showed signs
of becoming
politically correct
no unruly images
escaping beyond borders
when walking in the street I found my
themes cut out for me
knew what I would not report
for fear of enemies’ usage
then I began to wonder
II
Everything we write
will be used against us
or against those we love.
These are the terms,
take them or leave them.
Poetry never stood a chance
of standing outside history.
One line typed twenty years ago
can be blazed on a wall in spraypaint
to glorify art as detachment
or torture of those we
did not love but also
did not want to kill.
We move but our words stand
become responsible
for more than we intended
and this is verbal privilege