INVERTED SYNTAX
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  • The Fissured Tongue Series
    • Fissured Tongue Volume 6
    • Fissured Tongue Volume 5
    • Fissured Tongue Volume 4
    • Fissured Tongue Volume 3
    • Fissured Tongue Volume 2
    • Fissured Tongue Volume 1
    • Online Issue One
    • Online Issue Two
  • Submission Guidelines
    • The Fissured Tongue Series Guide
    • POETRY BOOK CONTESTS
  • Poetry Contest Results
    • 2024 POETRY BOOK CONTESTS RESULTS
    • Sublingua 2023 Results
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  • The Art of the Postcard
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    • We Are All Artists Exhibit
      • Video Compilation FirehouseArt Center Postcard Exhibit
      • Firehouse Exhibitors 2022
        • Churnage FirehouseArt Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Daniel Staub Weinberg Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Genevieve Rose Barr Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Eva Schultz Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Samantha Malay Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • D Allen Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Hayley Harris Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Tony Peyser Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Sarah Santoni Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
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        • Rikki Santer Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
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      • We Are All Artists Exhibit Guide
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Human expression is never orderly.
​It is a space of disruption.To let ourselves express means to be vulnerable.​It means to invert syntax so as to articulate the visceral. 




​​​The Fissured Tongue Series 

Some languages need not be translated
Michael Hatcher
Some languages need not be translated.
When a grown man cries out for his mother 
Or when a woman is ripped from the comfort of this planet
By the bright sunrise of loud banging 
And wild bullets it sticks with you. 
It rolls over everything like a thick fog.
Until everyone you love is jaded 
And covered in smoke.

All of my friends are matches.
Strike our heads and we will catch fire.
That is not a threat.
It is a covenant with the most high.
It is an obscure passage from a lost holy book,
Written on the back of our eyelids that reads in case of emergency 
Burn everything! 

America has been on fire.
There are a privileged few who don’t want to see it 
But most of us are covered in smoke.
Last night most of us watched the sky open up. 
It was getting itself ready to receive more black and brown bodies,

There is no natural end to hunting season 
The fear is tangible 
The fear is we will return the gifts that were laid at our door steps 
That are laid at our doorstep, 
But that is not our way. 

There is no race war. 
The only war is a war on racism,
And we are armed to the teeth.
We are an army of everybody, 
An all inclusive wrecking ball.

Please save the explanations and the apologies for the ghost.
It’s too late now, the choir boys have joined the lynch mob. 
In just a few minutes we are going to be breathing just fine.
Deep breaths. 

The ability to inhale as much of this country as we want to,
We’ve paid for that and then some,
We’ve seen so many of our family members 
Bleeding on the same side walks
Our grandparents weren’t allowed to walk on. 
“Tired” is not the word. 

The word is “now.” 
The word is “today.”

The revolution will not only be televised
It will be on demand. 
This is one we can watch over and over 

Why should I give my children the “talk?”

Why should I have to tell them to call me if they ever get pulled over?
It might be our last chance to speak, 
I say no. 
I say no more. 

I say there is irony in stolen property 
Being blamed for doing property damage.

Is that all you got?
What kind of God is worried about bean bags and tear gas?

Hold on George we got this.
Breonna we got you,
Tell Ahmaud this aint over.

We are just getting comfortable.
The good apples are starting to separate themselves from the bad ones. 

Tell the sky there is nothing coming tonight or tomorrow 
Some languages don’t need to be translated.

My connection to my people has nothing to do with a family tree

So each time a news anchor tells that tragic story, 
That same tragic story,
I lose something 
I can never get back.

And I want everything back.
This is not a threat.
It’s a covenant. 
Picture
Retrieved from The MET Open Access
About the Author

Michael Hatcher is poet, writer, and performer who was raised in Fort Worth, Texas. In 2012 Michael self-published his own chapbook titled "Things I Say in Crowded Rooms." A veteran of poetry slam, he has represented several Dallas and Fort Worth area slam teams four times at the National Poetry Slam. Michael served as slam master on the Inkwell Slam Team for two years. Michael has also performed and facilitated workshops at schools, theaters, libraries, bookstores, bars, and poetry venues across the United States. Michael is a nature lover who enjoys botany and gardening at his home in Austin, Texas.

About the Work

"My writing is my best attempt at bending or altering the boundaries placed on words. From what I’ve gathered about the work at Inverted Syntax, that seems to be a common goal amongst some of they artist they feature. I appreciate that."
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  • The Fissured Tongue Series
    • Fissured Tongue Volume 6
    • Fissured Tongue Volume 5
    • Fissured Tongue Volume 4
    • Fissured Tongue Volume 3
    • Fissured Tongue Volume 2
    • Fissured Tongue Volume 1
    • Online Issue One
    • Online Issue Two
  • Submission Guidelines
    • The Fissured Tongue Series Guide
    • POETRY BOOK CONTESTS
  • Poetry Contest Results
    • 2024 POETRY BOOK CONTESTS RESULTS
    • Sublingua 2023 Results
    • Sublingua 2022 Results
    • Sublingua 2020 Results
    • Sublingua 2019 Results
  • About Us
    • Masthead
    • More
      • Interviews
      • Blog
        • Blog
      • Resources
        • Writing resources
        • Mile-High MFA
          • Mile-High MFA Writers
          • Mile-High MFA Website
          • Faculty News & Interviews
    • Our Contributors
    • Mission
  • Store
  • Nominations & Awards
    • Pushcart Prize
    • Best of the Net
    • Best Micro Fiction
  • The Art of the Postcard
    • About The Art of the Postcard
    • Art of the Postcard Issue 3
    • Art of the Postcard Issue 2
    • Art of the Postcard Issue 1
    • We Are All Artists Exhibit
      • Video Compilation FirehouseArt Center Postcard Exhibit
      • Firehouse Exhibitors 2022
        • Churnage FirehouseArt Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Daniel Staub Weinberg Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Genevieve Rose Barr Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Eva Schultz Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Samantha Malay Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • D Allen Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Hayley Harris Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Tony Peyser Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Sarah Santoni Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Julia Klatt Singer Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Kathryn Kruse Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Meg Freer Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Moira Walsh Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Stephanie Staab Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Anne Swannell Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Laura Knott Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Jo Goren Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • CR Resetarits Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Sarah Ernestine Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Stephanie Johnson Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Charles J. March III Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Emily Mosley Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Grace Desmarais Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Emily Vieweg Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Claire Lawrence Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Meca'Ayo Cole Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Andrea Rexilius Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Christian Garduno Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Salma Ahmad Caller Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Glenn Thomas Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Claire Yspol Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Michael Thompson Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Rikki Santer Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Laura Gamache Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Christine Williams Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Stephanie Beechem Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Imma Dunach Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Ginny Short Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Josh Lefkowitz Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Carolyn Adams Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
      • We Are All Artists Exhibit Guide
      • We are All Artists Submission Form Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit