YADDO 

Guilt—
always having been
my Gulag Archipelago

But it wasn’t—
until Yaddo that
I really knew
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Across the hallway—
Chester Himes had
drinks with me

We talked—
and talked & talked
long into the night
___________________

I was horrified—
by his Chicago
rat stories

But even more—
by his feeling guilty
for his black skin
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Is that why—
I exiled myself
to Switzerland?

I could be—
white as snow
not feeling guilty?