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A deadening a twist
in the mouth the heart
When personal –
for an act a thought
shame is an ember
a burning a thing to attend to
extinguish or
fan to flame the better to see
our darkness
But this—political—
for my country
for children in cages
for father and child
embracing in the river dead
for a monster whose reason not to rape is
“not my type”
for men hands on Bibles
claiming dominion over women’s bodies
for the highest court endorsing the lowest deceits
for the cultivation of fear
the exaltation of hate
for the endless
endless
endless
lies until we are bludgeoned
unconscious
In this I find no
ember no gleam of light
In this darkness
I howl
but hear no echo
Only silence
Pepper Trail is a poet and naturalist based in Ashland, Oregon. His poetry has appeared in Rattle, Atlanta Review, Spillway, Kyoto Journal, Cascadia Review, and other publications, and has been nominated for Pushcart and Best of the Net awards. His collection Cascade-Siskiyou was a finalist for the 2016 Oregon Book Award in Poetry.
Pepper Trail is a poet and naturalist based in Ashland, Oregon. His poetry has appeared in Rattle, Atlanta Review, Spillway, Kyoto Journal, Cascadia Review, and other publications, and has been nominated for Pushcart and Best of the Net awards. His collection Cascade-Siskiyou was a finalist for the 2016 Oregon Book Award in Poetry.