Willful Ignorance
by Victor Henry


Peeling another layer
of willful ignorance back
you ask why Ford didn’t pardon
the draft dodgers the same time
he issued Nixon an unconditional pardon
for crimes he committed.

I murmur and stutter
something about privileged college students
losing their privileges at Kent State
and Jackson State College.
I say, Ask the Cambodians.
So how do we measure bureaucratic integrity

in this era of might is right? you ask,
as if there was a concrete answer.
With a lie detector test and a syringe, I reply.
We’re back in the Middle Ages,
practicing obedience to the zodiac,
testing the purity of our blood.






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