On Pilot Lights
The first time I saw a fire’s flame, I stood on the second floor of a third-story row home in my favorite place – my grandmother’s kitchen. The small space … Read more
Politics
The Revolution
The revolution is a rose—
petals blood-dew
thorns in flesh—
in a garden vast as homeland—
dips her petals in the pool of blood
and holds them up to the … Read more
“Indiana AG Asks Medical Board To Punish Doctor Who Helped 10-Year-Old Rape Victim Get Abortion”
The girl did not bounce off the coated man’s
knees. She dropped to the floor clawing herringbone,
remembering the suckled teat of her mother’s, her own
birth, the ocean she … Read more
Former President Trump Calls for the Termination of the Constitution, Shortly After Announcing His Re-Election Bid
A cat toys with a mouse, sprinkles
shredded cheese in its path. The mouse
sniffs the perimeter of the cheese, tempted to let
instinct and hunger take over. He resists.… Read more
KFC apologizes after German Kristallnacht promotion
Is it the crisp flakey morsels that Germans consumed
before the computer system error, chicken wetted
on … Read more
Donald Trump Has Ruined My Life
Last night’s Breaking News! had no surprises, no shocking
revelations, no human drama. Just another humdrum story
of a feckless authoritarian and his desperate need
to bask in the blaring … Read more
Failure to perform
I hear a Senator say Democracy
is a lady of the night and we are a republic
of virtue so, there is no need to count every vote
The Senator … Read more
Eu não falo português
Tonight
for the first time
in my life
I watch and wait
for the presidential
election results from Brazil
Eu não falo português/
I don’t speak Portuguese
relying on those … Read more
Trickle Down Man
I’m trickle down man, pleased to meet you I’m sure,
If you’re suffering from poverty my life is your cure;
The more you give me the better for you,
Sounds … Read more
Fifty minutes to sunset
they appear down the hill onto his land. Sticks metal pipes M16
no faces just eyes intent piercing the air. He held onto his hoe
the … Read more
To Zhina Amini
That day
a tired voice asks her
to free herself, dance under the city’s
weary sun.
She sings silently for freedom
and lets her beauty shine
across Tehran’s grey streets.… Read more
Merrick at the Bat
My job is to call balls and strikes …
– Chief Justice John Roberts
The outlook was most sunny for AG Garland’s team
Trump’s legal gambit was on its face … Read more
Why Are You Here?
for Sayeh (Shadow)
Poet
from the forest-covered mountains
you celebrated the land that jailed you
When the radio broadcast your patriotic song
your jail guards and cellmates asked,
“Why are … Read more
Not Completely Satisfied
The dress I ordered arrived today
in teal blue, not aqua. And of course
I know it’s not much of a grievance
beside the bodies pulled
from bombed buildings in … Read more