THE COMEDIAN
for Michael Moore

The way the comedian
tells the joke
& everyone laughs and laughs
because it is as funny as hell
but also because it says
something serious
about race & sex & class in America
but it is not a bomb
or a hate letter
it is encoded in the form of a joke
so you can't touch him
& what is the matter, buddy,
you can't take a joke
this is America
as the guy at the luncheonette
loves to tell me
whatever that means
as I hand over the moolah
to buy my newspaper
while the poor are trampled every day
& the rich grow richer
and black panthers fighting back
were assassinated
for saying some of the same things
but this guy!
this guy does his number
with the greatest of ease
the boob tube
professional wrestling
Democrats
and Republicans
and the powers that be!
nothing escapes
the flying leaps of his monologue
as when an acrobat
balances
on the slenderest of wires
and does not fall
to his death
beneath
it makes me want to dance
and sing!
the way the comedian
tells the joke!
and everyone laughs
and laughs
                           
Chris Butters