Iconography

 Cigar Store Indian.

Any surprise that that icon is gone?

It went the way of Aunt Jemima,

Uncle Ben, and other racist affronts.

Icons have moved to people’s bodies,

branded by tee shirts, monograms,

tattoos. They feel a certain way when

they wear them…now everyone is 

their own cliche.

People in uniforms demonstrate that

they have the same purpose. 

Clowns are made up that way.

A swastika is an extreme example.

These days, no one has to guess it’s 

meaning.

“What you see is what you get” some say.

“Things are symbols of themselves” is

another way to say it.

People see through the filters

of their symbols, their brands,

their group, their team, the scars

they got becoming one of those.

My poetry is not philosophy,

it doesn’t care what you think.

It only cares what you see.