drove past the new plasma store
they’re buying, not selling
do you need to know more?

old cars fill up the vast parking lots
that pristinely fresh concrete,
marred by oil and brake fluid spots

this is a tale-of-two-river-cities,
white kids don’t sell platelets here/
this is no college town
this place was known
for Black boys, kidnapped and drowned

this fucking joint, is it never empty/
how many times can they draw blood per person, per month/
is it just two times – or twenty?

Freedom Plasma: there’s still Black blood to be drained!
24-7 audacity and
not ONE DROP of shame

[a mint by any other name, would smell as metallic, or seem so profane?]

Black families stay siphoned
but even this act’s communal
offering their bodies, their blood,
for some food for their children
for used work boots at Goodwill

white folks, “donate” for good effect and for “good will”
see, both their lifesource and red cross donor cards are near-filled/
and by the way, “I voted”, but that sticker fell off
“I want you to know:
I punched straight “D” — but, of course!”

/ tsk, tsk: “you know, “they” blew through their child tax credit refund already!”
but thank god, The Feds made certain:
Tech banks are liquid, and crypto’s steady/