Lying Hearts

So is it true
That when men stoop
Their heads can touch their scrotums?

What wisdom exists
In the roundness of a fat fool’s belly
Cannot compare with that of a child
His belly is big and round, yes
Like a fura da nunu pot
Yes instead of milk
There is green algae
Decomposing slowly like a chameleon’s carcass
The same big bellies unite both beings

So is it true
That when a man looks beyond his nose
He sees his forehead?
Even clowns dance in a king’s courtyard
Only when he wants to forget the enemies at his gates
So who fools who?
The jester who dances for the king’s money
Or the king who laughs in the face of war

So is it true
That when women go to war
Their breast milk turns sour?
Women who dance like soldiers
And chant the songs of freedom
Only do so for their children
The ones who know them not
The ones who call other women “mother”
When they come home
With the spoils of war
So you hail their victory
Or hiss in shame?
What do we know?

2007