Friday, July 23, 2021

A LESSON IN PASSIVE VOICE

by Lauren Haynes




The Capitol was breached while I  
taught preteens the art of  
language, to bend and  
provoke, to  
evade and  
slice.  
The order of a sentence and its  
implications. The difference between  
“The letter was mailed to me by my grandparents.” and  
“My grandparents mailed the letter to me.”  
Inconsequential until remote learning tabs to  
the real world.  
Miss, they say,  
the offices of high-ranking members  
of Congress were entered.  
Miss, they say,  
the American flag was removed and replaced:  
MAKE AMERICA                              AGAIN.  
A bomb was planted.  
A coup was staged.  
Where is the subject?  
Miss, they say,  
Who is doing the action?  


Lauren Haynes holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Western Kentucky University and has been an English teacher for years.