46
Fate deals forty-six chromosomal cards
at birth to players of human poker.
Sometimes she throws in a surprise joker
or stacks honors flush with her kind regards.
Her suits are four nucleotide bases,
forming pairs in a helical tableau.
Their arrangements determine which traits show.
Culture marks us as deuces or aces.
Four hundred years we played games of false rank,
where white races unfairly trump others.
Our cards can’t be changed. We can change the game.
Maybe the winner might not be the bank,
if we would play as sisters and brothers.
Dirty deals redden us with rage and shame.
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