JUMP CUT
A
REVIEW OF CONTEMPORARY MEDIA
A road map for America
[Editors’ note: Jump Cut contributor Anandam Kavoori here provides a creative look at television images of the Gulf War, as seen from an immigrant’s perspective. We present three selections of his poetry from his book length cycle of poems, A Road-Map for America.]
The President’s Face
My
mother
says on the long-distance call from Delhi
“Its his face,” she says
“It mocks us
sneering your country in our face”
My
friend’s brother
on the long-distance call from Cairo
starts to shout
when he sees the President’s face
“Its
not personal,” we say
“Its ideological”
they shout back:
“No, its personal
he mocks us frame by frame
every night
smearing your country in our face”