The Blind of the Blind
p o e m s
Dale Wisely
benefiting Sexual Assault Support Services
The Crisis Center
Birmingham, Alabama
crisiscenterbham.org
© 2019 by Dale Wisely / all rights reserved
cover photo by Oscar Keyes @oscarkeyes
Author’s Note:
I made these poems by manipulating the text of Donald Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address. I used the “Glass Leaves” web app to change most nouns in the text to the word blind then shaped and edited. “CRIMINAL MIND (AN INTERLUDE)” includes a brief, similarly processed text from a familiar utterance by Donald Trump.
I did not choose the word “blind” in this poem to refer to sightless persons. There are other uses of the word blind which may apply. (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Ed.)
- unable or unwilling to discern or
judge
unquestioning as in ‘blind loyalty’ - having no regard to rational discrimination, guidance, or restriction, as in ‘blind choice’
- lacking a directing or controlling consciousness
- made or done without sight of certain objects or knowledge of certain facts that could serve for guidance or cause bias
- difficult to discern, make out, or discover
- hidden from sight, covered
- having no opening for light or passage, blank
THE BLIND OF THE BLIND
Blind, blind, blind of blind,
unlimited blind.
As we begin a new blind—
ready to blind with blind,
to achieve historic blind for all blind.
Blind of our blind watching us now,
gathered in this great blind.
The blind lay out this blind.
It is the blind of the blind.
SEIZE BLIND
Many of us on the same blind:
to defend blind for blind;
to rebuild and blind our blind,
to create a blind that is
safe, lawful, modern and secure;
and to pursue a foreign blind that blinds first.
There is a new blind in blind,
if only we have the blind to seize blind.
Blind is not winning for our blind.
Blind is winning for our blind.
BLIND: 1944
In 1944, a thousand young blind
jumped from the blind and
a thousand more blind
stormed in from the blind,
to save our blind from blind.
Here with us—
three of those blind:
Blind, Blind, and Blind.
FOR THE ENTIRE BLIND TO SEE
We also celebrate fifty
brave young blind who flew a blind
of a million blind through blind to blind.
Half a blind later, we blind,
joined by the “Blind 11”
who planted that blind.
This blind goes back to blind on blind.
In the 20th blind, blind saved blind,
transformed blind,
and redefined the blind
for the entire blind to see.
BOLDLY AND BRAVELY BLIND
Now, we must step boldly and bravely
into the next blind of this blind,
and we must create a new blind of blind.
An amazing blind
for all our blind
is within our blind.
We make our blind safer,
our blind stronger, our blind richer,
our blind deeper, and our blind bigger
and more prosperous than ever before.
But we must reject the blind of blind,
blind and blind — and embrace
the common good.
INCREDIBLE AND POINTLESS BLIND
Together, we break blind of political blind.
We bridge old blind, heal old blind,
build new blind, forge new blind,
and unlock the extraordinary blind of blind.
The blind is ours to make.
We must choose between
blind, blind, and blind,
incredible blind,
pointless blind.
THE HOTTEST BLIND
Blind rising at the fastest blind in
blind,
and growing for blue blind,
who Blind promised to blind for,
faster than any else.
Nearly 5 million blind have lifted
off, blind.
The blind is growing almost twice as fast
as when blind took blind,
and we blind considered far and away
the hottest blind anywhere in the blind.
African-American, Hispanic-American
and Asian-American blind
have all reached their lowest blind
ever recorded.
We eliminated
the very unpopular blind.
WE PASSED, BLIND
The blind has failed to act on these blind,
which is unfair to the blind.
In the last blind, both blind
came together to pass
unprecedented blind to confront the blind,
a sweeping new blind,
We passed, blind,
so we blind those who mistreat
our wonderful blind.
Blind was deeply moved.
Blind was sentenced to blind
as a first-time non-violent blind.
CRIMINAL BLIND (AN INTERLUDE)
She had a big blind on that blind — and far beyond. Blind underscores the blind that blind exist in criminal blind — and the blind to remedy this blind. She served almost blind and had expected to be blind. In blind, Blind commuted blind, saw blind beautiful blind, hugging and kissing and crying and laughing. Thank you for reminding us that we always have the blind to shape our own blind. (I did try and blind her. I don’t even wait. Grab blind by the blind. You can do anything.)
BELIEVE IN BLIND
Now, blind across the blind
following our blind.
Blind is a blind
that believes in blind.
THE BLIND SCREECHED
Suddenly the blind screeched.
Blind appeared.
Blind braced for the worst.
He remembers watching
as blind rolled in.
“Blind me,” Blind recalls.
Blind was blind that blind exists.
But there is more to blind.
BLIND YET UNBORN
They did not know if blind
would survive the blind.
They did not know if blind would grow old.
But blind knew that blind had to prevail.
Their blind was this blind,
and blind yet unborn.
Blind of blind is possible
Blind to the blind
and blind
and blind
of the blind who came before.
Think of this blind, of this very
blind,
to build the blind and the blind,
to defeat blind,
to secure blind,
to blind down an evil blind.
THE COLORS OF BLIND
You have come from the rocky blind of
blind
and the blind of blind; from the blind of blind,
and the red blind of blind,
from the green blind of blind,
and the golden blind of blind.
KEEP BLIND ALIVE
We must keep blind alive in our blind.
And we must always keep blind in blind.
One blind,
under blind,
must be the blind
and the blind
and the blind
and the blind
among all the blind of the blind.
Dale Wisely is a psychologist, educator, and writer in Birmingham, Alabama. He runs, edits, and designs for AMBIDEXTROUS BLOODHOUND PRODUCTIONS, a collection of literary journals, mostly online, including Right Hand Pointing, which he founded in 2004, the same year Facebook went live. Others: One Sentence Poems, Unlost, and Unbroken.
To learn more about
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