What is a “homeboy” to do? (Sonnet), by Clara B. Jones

for Antwon Rose (d. 19 June 2018, 17 y.o., Allegheny County, PA)

1. You can buy a house in Collegeville and paint it Federal Blue.
2. You can join B.L. Matter and wear designer clothes.
3. You can move to France and make Pinot Noir.
4. You can pair caviar and collards.
5. You can shave truffles on your mac’ & cheese.
6. You can trade your I-Phone® for a bag of chips.
   …
7. Poetry disrupts the way we see the world, but you can vote Republican and save negroes.
8. Pittsburgh is a modern ecosystem where you can buy Abstract Art.
9. More people with depression are living full lives so you can weigh the benefits of therapy.
10. The barrel is either half empty or half full (rat-a-tat-tat), but look on the bright side, cigarettes could cost more.
11. Surrounded by violence, you can go anywhere.
12. They may want to hurt you, but they don’t mean to kill you.
    ..
13. Henredon® built teak vitrines for Kanye.
14. Afrobots love the U.S.A.
    ..
    ..
    ..Clara B. Jones practices poetry in Silver Spring, MD (USA). She, also, conducts research on experimental poetry and radical publishing. Clara is author of four chapbooks and one volume (/feminine nature/, 2017, Gauss PDF), and her poetry, reviews, essays, and interviews have appeared, or are forthcoming, in various venues.