Poems of Resistance, Power & Resilience – Tara Campbell

As the incoming administration builds its agenda of attack on marginalized people, on freedom of speech, on the earth itself, poetry will continue to be an essential voice of resistance. Poets will speak out in solidarity, united against hatred, systemic oppression, and violence and for justice, beauty, and community.

In this spirit, Split This Rock is offering its blog as a Virtual Open Mic. For the rest of this frightening month, January of 2017, we invite you to send us poems of resistance, power, and resilience.

We will post every poem we receive unless it is offensive (containing language that is derogatory toward marginalized groups, that belittles, uses hurtful stereotypes, etc.). After the Virtual Open Mic closes, we hope to print out and mail all of the poems to the White House.

For guidelines on how to submit poems for this call, visit the Call for Poems of Resistance, Power & Resilience blog post. 

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When Peanut Butter Baby Ruled the World
by Tara Campbell

It began with the dreaming mothers.

Their babies came out familiar in shape

but not in substance

Pickle Baby

Ice Cream Baby

Crispy Tofu Baby

The first births were recorded

by nurses with trembling hands.

Others came

Chocolate Baby

Nutella Baby

Marshmallow Baby

The phenomenon had no ground zero, no borders.

Doctors around the world compared notes

Cassava Baby

Chickpea Baby

Spicy Squid Baby

and searched for a cure,

meanwhile pleading with mothers to maintain their health.

The mothers tried

Asparagus Baby

Broccoli Baby

Peanut Butter Baby

But they had needs

Bacon Baby

Rum Baby

Maraschino Cherry Baby

Tiny Umbrella Baby

They couldn’t control their dreams…

Vodka Baby

Wine Baby

Gin & Tonic Baby

…of all the things they couldn’t have

Highball Baby

Marlboro Baby

Raw Cookie Dough Baby

Unpasteurized Milk Baby

The doctors kept waking the mothers up to feed them applesauce and admonishment, but they kept on dreaming…

Imported Soft Cheese Baby

Beef Tartare Baby

Sushi Baby

Swordfish Baby

Just About Any Goddamn Fish Baby

…until finally the mothers said, “Enough!

We still love Pickle Baby

and Crispy Tofu Baby

and Peanut Butter Baby

and Highball Baby

and yes, even Just About Any Goddamn Fish Baby is okay.

They’re all our babies.”

And then they dreamed whatever they wanted.

And by the time Peanut Butter Baby grew up and ruled the world

there were even more kinds of babies, like

Equal Pay Baby

No More Street Harassment Baby

Corporate Leadership Equity Baby

Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation Baby

and

Respect Your Elders Baby,

who eventually had

To Hell With Plastic Surgery Baby

and

Male Pregnancy Baby,

who gave immediate birth to

Right to Choose Baby

and her twin

Self-Determination Baby

And when Self-Determination Baby usurped the throne

her first and last order

before abolishing the position of Ruler of the World

was to tell the mothers to dream

and keep on dreaming.

(Originally published July 2016 by Zetetic: A Record of Unusual Inquiry)