CAST ME NOT

I know what eyes and ears take in
Mind scripts to cast us as characters
…in dream land
But please
…cast me not in these scenes

II
Please cast me not as a lass in the Tulip
One chased for wearing few parts of my skin
And beaten and stoned and killed
In an embarrassment denser than the worst I’ve experienced

III
Please cast me not as a lad living close to Fire Man
One deceived and trapped and decapitated
In a death of horror
One I’ve never thought would be my fate

IV
In the same way cast me not as a wife
Shot through an argument
Killed only to be fed to the sack of the police
For a newsfeed which will only leave me hanging
…in between life and death

V
I only want to live like a careful ant
Feeding and stashing to be able to survive
I only want to be given my fantasies
…in dreamland
To travel and dance and love and laugh
Like the blisses our heaven promise for our kisses
So help me, so help us and all who taste these unpleasant brutalities, dear God
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © August 24, 2021