Change Places
Marilyn Anderson
for Deonte and his mama
Make her very white, my boy's teacher,
and put her in my chair. Have her
ask me questions about what I do
with my son.
Have me tell her I threw his crayons out
'cause he and his brothers draw
on the wall.
Have me tell her he's got no toys
like she shows me here. Have me say
my apartment be too small.
Have her say he needs words
and show me how
to name things.
Have me not want to talk to only say
uh huh, no, to nod and not
to meet her eyes.
Have her say he loves picture books
and wants to know the names for things
and know the stories and this is how
you start to read.
Have me say his books got torn. [End Page 130]
Have my T-shirt say GET IT RIGHT the IT
caught in a fold between my breasts.
Have hers say MONET'S GARDEN
across her chest.Make me say I try to move from my building
'cause some are dealing drugs there be trouble
all the time.Make her say if I put some things—crayons,
scissors, paper, glue—in a shoebox
to be his own
do you have a place to put it?
Make me not to answer it's a good idea
but to shrug my shoulders. Make me think
she thinks I'm not a good mama.
Make me think she thinks she can
do a better job.
Make her know my boys be cared for right.Have her feel sorry about us. Have me hate her.
GET IT RIGHT.
Make me Black and put me in her chair.
Make my silence as thick as sidewalk cement.
Until recently, Marilyn Anderson was an early-childhood teacher. Her poetry has appeared in numerous journals and "The Rivers Emerging" exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. She is a former winner in the Lake Superior Writers' Series and is currently collaborating with book artist Verne Anderson on a picture book for young children.