Todays Match Chief Jay Strongbow vs. Delaney Lester. Making Poetry real.

Here is Chief Jay Strongbow---played by an Italian, Joey Scarpa, and racism brought to you by the WWF. Chief Jay for those keeping score = Not Real.



In the poem, "Chief Jay Strongbow is Real" I was trying to show that now in 2017,  as in the past, we are still taking land from the Native Americans at Standing Rock. We still depict those of “featured” ethnic groups as people to fear, and enact travel bans against all within that group. We have overwhelming police action, force, and incarceration in higher percentages from those dis-empowered. We have leadership treating addictions as personal weakness rather than disease. Things are viewed as true or real because society is telling us they are true and real. In other words, if we are not advancing in all these thought patterns, we have been regressing.

As I wrote the poem, I wanted a line, and I needed a real wrestler from Standing Rock. It would make a perfect metaphor for what is "real" vs. fake--(pro wrestling). I searched and I found a champion named Delaney Lester

Last year at Standing Rock, Junior
Wrestler Delaney Lester won

the 152 pound class in a pin.
No one will remember Delaney

And who was Luke Joseph Scarpa?
He was a fake, an actor within

(FULL POEM BELOW)

Fast forward to releasing the book. I'd read the poem and say something like, "There's this kid out there who has no idea he's in a poem..." I spoke about it when I was on TV with Doug Holder

at 24:47 or so...full poem before at 23:45



Which brings us to the magic or the obtrusiveness of the internet, where on Facebook I found Delaney Lester and contacted him out of my own curiosity. Things like this make poetry more real and it was awesome!! Delaney is real and he is a champion.

Chief Jay Strongbow is Real

His war dance began when wounded ,
Desperate, he’d rally—proud warrior

The show is real, dammit, the native American
will make that comeback, always fighting

harder when down, then full of fist-chops,
he’d punch, Handsome Jimmy Valiant

the rival’s white hair was bloody and disheveled—
Valiant was formally a partner, as champions

They fought Mr. Fugi and Professor Toru Tanaka
a tag-team battle of racism. The bout was over

when we enacted The Indian Removal Act
colonial conflict, disease, discrimination

because that was too real, dammit—the money
is what it’s about. Value

Last year at Standing Rock, Junior
Wrestler Delaney Lester won

the 152 pound class in a pin.
No one will remember Delaney

And who was Luke Joseph Scarpa?
He was a fake, an actor within

the theater of our absurdity. It’s all fake
Chief Jay Strongbow will beat the white man.