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The Poetry Warrior (c) Abigail Beaudelle - 2008.
All Poetry and artwork (c) the respective artists.
All Poetry and artwork (c) the respective artists.
The Chinese Symbol for Evil
Karl Koweski
the new kid comes into work,
forearm heavily bandaged,
and I immediately quiz him
as to the nature of his injury,
hoping it might be
a staph infection
so I could photograph it
for my personal staph gallery.
he peels back the gauze
revealing a nonsensical letter
inked into his skin
by the local scratcher
plying her trade in the
most obscure corner of the
most remote town in Alabama.
what is it?
it’s the Chinese symbol for evil.
evil, eh?
they give that tattoo to just anybody
or did you have to prove yourself?
what criteria did they use?
did you have to eat a baby
or did they just judge your
lack of morality by the
diabolical nature of your goatee?
it was just flash on the wall, dude.
I thought it looked cool
so I picked it out.
that easy, was it?
I’m sure it will serve you well
the next time you drop by
the Golden Panda
for some Kung Pao chicken.
and I can’t help but wonder
if the new kid has a counterpart
in some rice paddy village
in the dark red heart of China.
a pig farmer’s wannabe gangsta child
slipping into a nondescript mud hut
pointing to a dollar sign
tacked to the wall,
baring a patch of yellow skin
on his right shoulder
Karl Koweski
the new kid comes into work,
forearm heavily bandaged,
and I immediately quiz him
as to the nature of his injury,
hoping it might be
a staph infection
so I could photograph it
for my personal staph gallery.
he peels back the gauze
revealing a nonsensical letter
inked into his skin
by the local scratcher
plying her trade in the
most obscure corner of the
most remote town in Alabama.
what is it?
it’s the Chinese symbol for evil.
evil, eh?
they give that tattoo to just anybody
or did you have to prove yourself?
what criteria did they use?
did you have to eat a baby
or did they just judge your
lack of morality by the
diabolical nature of your goatee?
it was just flash on the wall, dude.
I thought it looked cool
so I picked it out.
that easy, was it?
I’m sure it will serve you well
the next time you drop by
the Golden Panda
for some Kung Pao chicken.
and I can’t help but wonder
if the new kid has a counterpart
in some rice paddy village
in the dark red heart of China.
a pig farmer’s wannabe gangsta child
slipping into a nondescript mud hut
pointing to a dollar sign
tacked to the wall,
baring a patch of yellow skin
on his right shoulder