i feel you everywhere these days.
the air is charged with your presence.
i felt you as i listened to dr. ford’s courage
and later to senator collins’ strange explanation
and in the possible return of family separation
under the thin mirage of binary choice,
in the value placed on an arms deal over a journalist
and in the audio of that carnage—
you are there.
even in my books, my diversion,
the letters arrange themselves into you.
you create danger, hide within a marriage,
and set yourself in the center of tragedy.
i knew there was no escape
when i saw you in my still-blooming marigolds
with their screaming reds and oranges.
i will collect each ragged piece of you
and rearrange you, carefully, and
i will use you, my rage,
i will use you.
Kate McLaughlin lives and works in Portland, Maine with her rescue dog Greta. In her spare time, she writes, calls and visits Senator Collins’ local office. Given recent events, Kate will now devote her time to unseating Senator Collins.
Photo by Hans Vivek.
