MISS CALIFORNIA
by Bryan Borland
Miss California
your mouth misfired and melted your crown,
Golden State Goddess tossed
from your throne and into the
mud, from coronation to common,
as average as us, let me cover you
with worthier titles.
How about
Miss Judge
our voice of vindication,
the cohesiveness of a community
unwilling to go silently into that lonely night,
not when we should have our
wives and husbands beside us.
How about
Miss Educated
on what makes a family,
on your belief that we aren’t meant to be because
the math does not add up,
but if you paid attention in arithmetic,
you would know that addition comes easier
than division.
How about
Miss Interpret
the concept of freedom, your idea that
we live in a land where the majority
can choose the rights of the minority,
but honey,
it’s not a choice.
Or how about simply
Carrie, the blond-haired girl
without sash or tiara, who
won’t forget us now, to whom I’ll introduce
myself as Bryan, to whom I’ll introduce
this handsome man as Christopher,
love of my life, and one day, Carrie,
our country will recognize him the same way I do,
and if you aren’t lucky enough to have what we have,
you’re sadly
Miss Ing’Out.
© Bryan Borland
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So it’s not quite as biting as Maxine Clarke’s wonderfully wicked “Miss California’s daughters” (http://slamup.blogspot.com/2009/06/miss-californias-daughters.html) but hey, it was a family-friendly show. The moral of the story is that if you get to know someone, you’ll have a harder time telling them that you don’t believe in their rights. Hence the first name basis, Carrie/Bryan.
“but if you paid attention in arithmetic,
you would know that addition comes easier
than division.”
Initially, I was somewhat put off by the seeming straightforwardness of this poem, but it grew to a powerful ending.
Also, it feels very Milkian.
This style is a little different than what I usually write, but it was written for the purposes of spoken word & also for an audience that might not be “into” poetry – so I wanted to keep it straightforward in that regard. I wanted to have some words to emphasize… the titles (Miss Educated etc). As it transitions from a spoken-word piece to a more traditional poem, it will be interesting to see what revisions are made. Outside of a “family-friendly” environment, I might hit harder and draw blood.
Milkian. HA. Took me a few!!! I was like, who is Milkian? The sun has clearly fried my brain! Mr. Milk’s name came up several times today.
Thank you for the feedback, QL!
It’s hard to walk that line between calling someone intolerant or sounding intolerant yourself (and many are very intolerant of Ms. Prejean – guilty as charged). That’s why I wanted to work to that last stanza.
You’re right, walking that confronting intolerance with tolerance/intolerance line is tough especially when you’re trying to break through the barriers to communication–regarding any issue. I wondered about the different ‘tone’ in comparison to what I’ve read so far and your spoken word context for delievery explains the shift. Am enjoying your wordcraft/wordplay and voice. Nice word working all around. Thanks.
I think you balanced it nicely, Bryan.
The Milkianism (?) of it all struck me in your comment (“The moral of the story is that if you get to know someone, you’ll have a harder time telling them that you don’t believe in their rights. Hence the first name basis, Carrie/Bryan.) I think that approach is still right and relevant, because it thinks of fighting intolerance as confronting people who may be under-educated about who and how gay people are. From what I’ve read, the ‘No on 8′ campaign in California was fairly top-down in its approach, forgoing grass-roots organizing for the distance that ads and indirect advocacy creates. But then again, I have no way to know if this is a fair description of the campaign.
All I know is that I was as saddened by the result as I was surprised by the recent progress made in Iowa, New Hampshire and Vermont. Still, California could have been very significant, because it would prove that a conservative marriage amendment could be defeated. We come from very different political cultures on this. In Norway, the federal government is very strong, and we have a federal marriage equality law, passed with broad support last year. The challenge in the US of course is that much of this hopefully inevitable change will have to be imposed through the judicial system, like in California, and thus heightening the risk of a ‘popular’ backlash.
Sorry if I rambled off topic there. I don’t know if any of it made any sense. Anyway, good work as always. If nothing else, your words frequently fill me with a sense of pride. Mission accomplished?
I couldn’t agree with this poem more. I am of strong mind if you find someone in this life to share it with then by all means take it. It’s hard enough to find happiness without adding barriers or a closed mind as Miss California is. Hope all is well. Have a great night.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Michelle. I agree that if you find a loving connection with another person, hold onto it as tight as you can.
another vintage Borland.
Brilliant.
It makes me incredibly happy that you’ve just used the words “vintage Borland.”
I loved it, don’t know what to say, just that I lived there a couple of years and it reminds me of the people and the places I have been trough in many ways
Thanks the wonderful and brilliant Mariana.
I had no idea….I don’t watch TV, read magazines or listen to the radio….
Thanks for reminding me why in some areas, I like to be ignorant….
But B……I’m still pissed I had to read this second hand!!! It’s all about me…sigh
But it IS all about you!
lots of great stuff going on here and i’m glad you read it for your pride picnic! especially the Miss Interptation section.
It is very straightforward but for the intended audience I am sure it worked well!
It’s kind of fun writing for a specific audience. Not a poetic grand slam but it was certainly fun to perform.
Clever word play. Good work again, Bryan.
Thanks Vic! Glad you enjoyed. Added you to my blogroll!
Amen to this. ^_^
Thanks Joseph. Added you to my blogroll!
This is a wonderful poem, Bryan. It says everything simply and in a straightforward manner. I especially like your use of ‘Miss’ to emphasise the bad points in her character. There can be no miss interpetation of what she stands for. It just a pity she’s so damn miss guided and wrong. Great writing, Bryan.
Miss Guided. Damn. I missed one!
Good work, Bryan. As I was reading it, part of me thought — groan, a political poem, but at least it’s a very good and clever one (though who am I to say this, I write the political stuff too) — but the ending makes it personal too, and it works perfectly.
The line about division reminded me of a line from a Denise Levertov poem from many years ago (though yours was completely different, opposite in fact) about how she was dividing the iris bulbs to give some to someone else. As I said, unrelated, just another good poem by another good poet, one who also can make the political personal and vice versa.
Thanks for keepin’ in real Ray! I will check out Denise Levertov’s work for sure.
I guess miss california, the state, must be not very happy today.
Sadly things, nothing to say.