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.
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.
***
MELLOW
….
by Edward “Ned” Haggard
by Edward “Ned” Haggard
“You were vicious and violent but
now
you're mellow”; Trump’s words
to his victory tour faithful. CNN
reports
on it passively, a nearly quaint
aside. Today,
Trump mocks critical response
claiming
his comments were post-victory
humor. The faithful laugh, sharing
the
“joke”; after all, barring surprise,
a President-elect did not criticize
viciousness
and violence as wrong, but as a
“joke.”
Book burnings coming?
Science is a joke…?
Integrity is a joke…?
Compassion is a joke…?
Women are a joke…?
Climate Change is a joke…?
Lies, denial and deflection steering
manipulation;
the renewed way in style…?
The faithful are pawns,
“I don’t need you anymore;
well, maybe I will in four years.”
They cheered!
A resurrected dictum as social
services
vanish or modify to spotty
dependability:
arbeit macht frei?
Exploitation is de rigeur;
wisdom of the crooked line?
Gush up, trickle-down?
To the greedy go the spoils?
Let the rest starve or
die? Could be, could be….
Artificial Intelligence erasing
a toiling yet working
class sufficiency that paved the way
to Dream?
Ayn Rand, a poisoned, rot gut wine?
And the sacredness of human life?
Gone the route of Holocaust and
Peenemunde?
Internment in a resurrected
Manzanar over the American
horizon? Mass deportations?
Who will write the
full truth of Gitmo? And when?
Making America Great Again…?
##
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