MUSEUM, FREE OF CHARGE, SUGGESTED DONATION (still working this out…hmmm)

went to the museum today
perused corridors of
artifact-clad walls
paintings and prints
of people from past
other times in
this world

and i thought
what if hate were here
a thing that could be
housed in a palatial space
maybe framed in gold
or incased in glass
or roped off by blood velvet
like the mona lisa

what if it was some
fragile installation
taking up every inch
so that you could step into
the museum but could not
move or touch or breathe or

what if it was
performance art
starring you and me
and you and you and us
where pain is part
of the art of it all
and we just clap
for ourselves
like damn
we a part
of history

what if hate came
with a pamphlet
and an exhibition tour guide
start at the top
work your way down

and what if your name
and my name was on
every piece
our signatures scribbled
across every canvas
each one like a mass
grave a mess of ink
everyone fawning and
falling over

what if it was outsider art
where everything is built
by that which has been destroyed
repurposed human
looks just like you
you’ll say to you

what if it was just
a hall of mirrors
or a hall of hallways
or a hall of fame

of people from now
this time in
this world