THE JAILS
The jails, they’re full of prisoners. Why are they full of prisoners?
Because everyone’s doing drugs or selling them. Why is everyone doing
drugs or selling them? Because they’re bored and desperate. Why are
they bored and desperate? Because they have no work. Why don’t they
have work? Because the jobs went away. Why did the jobs go away?
Because the bosses put in robots. Why did the bosses put in robots?
Because robots don’t ask questions. Why don’t robots ask questions?
Because they don’t have minds. Why don’t they have minds? Because
the scientists haven’t gotten that far. Why haven’t the scientists gotten
that far? Because the government won’t fund them. Why won’t the
government fund them? Because they’re funding the army. Why are
they funding the army? So we can fight. Why should we fight? Because
we have enemies. Why do we have enemies? Because we’re always
interfering. Why are we interfering? Because we’re better than they are.
Why are we better than they are? Because we’re free. Why are we free?
Because we waged a war to worship our own gods. Why did we wage a
war to worship our own gods? Because we felt oppressed. Why did we
feel oppressed? Because they put us in the jails.
ABOUT THE POET
Lauren K. Watel's poetry, fiction, essays and translations have appeared in
The Paris Review, The Nation, Narrative, Tin House, Antioch Review,
TriQuarterly, The Massachusetts Review, Slate, Colorado Review,
Birmingham Poetry Review, Poetry International, Ploughshares, and the
Collected Poems of Marcel Proust, among others. She was awarded a visiting
artist residency at the American Academy in Rome as well as a Distinguished
Fellowship at Hambidge Art Center. Her work has also won awards from Poets
and Writers, Moment Magazine-Karma Foundation and Mississippi Review.
Her prose poem "The House She Lived In" honoring Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
was set to music by Pulitzer-winning composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, and
premiered at the Dallas Symphony
ABOUT SUGAR HOUSE REVIEW
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