The Protest (Cavalieri)
The Protest, by Grace Cavalieri (1932-)
I was supposed to make a five minute speech
so I took a tranquilizer
but the speech was cancelled.
I was to give another speech but
this too was cancelled.
As you can imagine, I stayed
tranquilized my whole life without speaking,
When the fire and blood came up
in thin spouts
through the kitchen floor
I called the manager
but it is never his fault
if we are speechless and in exile,
He said the problem in the floor
comes from being too emotional,
I had another chance to speak once
but the mashed potatoes lay thick
on my tongue and my indignation
sounded less than noble,
All the audience learned that night
is how anger sounds
through mashed potatoes,
“The physical is spiritual”
I said hotly, but
other people’s impressions
had already brushed off on me,
By the time the audience left
I was a widow in a nightgown
and I had not told what
I’d come here to say.