it will come with two
children, a dog,
tell warm, personal stories,
call us Ladies and
Gentlemen, have a
catch in its throat.
When fascism comes
it will raid
the houses of sleeping
children, use stun
grenades, tasers.
When fascism comes
it will seize filmmakers’
work at the border.
When fascism comes
it will study our e-mails.
When fascism comes
the potential hostile
intent of a child
will be reason to call in
a drone strike.
When fascism comes
there will be no lawyer,
no sentence, only
the bars, the dark.
When fascism comes
it will jail exclusively
those who have
spoken the truth.
When fascism comes
it will rise from the ash
of oppression. On the wall
will hang the Nobel
Peace Prize.
Patricia Davis’ poems have appeared in Poet Lore, Salt Hill, Spoon River Poetry Review, Potomac Review, Quiddity, Adrienne Rich: A Tribute Anthology, Tar River Poetry, and Smartish Pace, which named her a finalist for the Beullah Rose Poetry Prize. Her translations of Cuban poetry have been published or are forthcoming in Spoon River Poetry Review, Puerto del Sol and the New Laurel Review.
