by Thomas DeFreitas
Grey drippy day in Arlington
I need to linger in a coffee-shop
safe in a progressive corner
of what used to be America
my country is a tired woman
of moon-silvered chevelure
who idly surfs a laptop
& sees accounts of atrocity
through traumatised eyeglasses
my country is no longer festival
(and one might ask
was it ever?)
could we shake up our gov't
rather like an Etch-a-Sketch
reset, restart, the whole bloody mess
turn the knobs
toward socialism matriarchy
entry-level empathy
to get here I walked
the bike-path in chilly drizzle
a second rain was falling
from windshaken branches
at tables in coffee-shops
across the fruited plain
Old White Guys gather
to grouse & to grumble
Women plot quiet Revolution
over a macchiato
a cortado
do not underestimate
their well-considered rage
Thomas DeFreitas (he/they) was born in Boston in 1969. He was educated at the Boston Latin School, and attended the University of Massachusetts in Amherst for three semesters. His sixth collection, Stars Bestow Their Quadrillionary Blessing, is forthcoming in November from Kelsay Books. Thomas is a resident of Arlington, Massachusetts.