Why I Am
A Whore

I'm dumb,
but I'm honest.

I'm in it
for what's in it
for me.

Oh,

there are many who contend that there's much
in the profession that needs to be changed but
if the intelligent observer will examine the contrasts
between junkies and diet pills, will look at those
who take bribes from I. Miller, will admit
that the average Cadillac owner is self-employed,
will face what is happening to private enterprise
or what private property does to itself
in the privacy of its own home....

meanwhile
I take some shit but I don't
do laundry
either, never pretend to be a princess
who subscribes to Redbook as a
self-fulfilling prophecy. I work,
and my song is, "If I Can't Sell It
I'm Gonna Keep Sittin' on It
Never Catch Me Givin' It
Away"

and my pimp says,

"The kitchen light has gone out
in the brain of America. Even
when you open the refrigerator door,
it's still dark."

--- Donna Brook
From Present Tense:
Poets in the World
Mark Pawlak, Editor
©2004 Hanging Loose Press
231 Wyckoff St
Brooklyn NY 11217