Though one cannot discern nor separate / the blood from the deep red wine / there is no shame in wishing to drink / only from the unseaming of grapes.
This is my attempt at subtweeting something I saw roll down the TL in the style of a proverb from Death and the Kingâs Horseman, which I am currently reading and quite enjoying (h/t @OldDreyfusard)
And of course the metaphor comes from Terrance Hayesâ âSnow for Wallace Stevens,â which contains a life-verse of mine: âwho is not the blood in a wine barrel/and the wine as well?â
In other words: seemingly silly attempts to social-justice-ize things that have an tenuous connection to racism or sexism or homophobia etc may ultimately be futile, but the impulse behind them is, if not noble, certainly normal.
I see a lot of yâall looking at a bottle of wine and saying, âthereâs no blood there, you canât even see it!â while you miss the cry of âI donât want to drink my own peopleâs blood.â