I subscribe to the Poetry Foundation’s “Poem a Day” email. I enjoy this routine because I’m always hungry to read more poetry, and having one shoved directly under my nose everyday is quite convenient. Otherwise, I would just get stuck in one book of poetry for weeks and weeks, and rationalize that with the “lack of time” disclaimer that stops us all from reading (and writing!) all the time.
Needless to say, I have time for one measly poem a day. Come on self, I can do this.
I received this poem on Saturday. I really like it, though I can’t always get on board with blatant political poetry. But my reaction to it interested me. It made me uncomfortable because of the level of honesty and relevance that it has in our society in terms of freedom– speech, marriage, religious beliefs, etc. — and because of the sharp note it hits on our current state of world events.
Also, I related to it. I am the person who laughs and tells people I love them when conflicting opinions (especially political) arise.
I posted this on my Facebook, and it wasn’t received well. I chickened out and deleted the post. So basically, in an unintentional social experiment, my defeat and fear to offend proved one of the points of this poem.
BUT… I still would like to share it. That’s what blogging is for right?
I was also curious about the writer. At one point in her career she taught incarcerated students. She writes a lot of probing things on being American. I have yet to read her other works, but I’m interested.
