THREE ICEFOUND POEMS

by Melanie DuBose

AI-generated graphic by Shutterstock for The New Verse News.

1

children formed

a human wall
around
their mother
as 
masked men
reached for her
 
Don't let go
don't let go
a child said
 
"I'm still shaking," —a bystander

2

It's about 

crazy spectacles of violence
dismantling resistance
suppressing dissent
paralyzing the community
authoritarianism and control
gestapo-style intimidation
 
We let them in 
they asked to use the bathroom
they did not use the bathroom
 
"We were not ready," —Museum Worker.

3
3pm to 3am

We dance
honk horns
play music
 
kidnappers
hunt down our family members
throw them down on concrete
question the very workers
who clean their rooms
 
"A peaceful protest just very noisy," —Verita Topoke.

Author’s note: Each poem was found in the words of the news report hyperlinked to its title.

Melanie DuBose lives under camphor trees filled with parrots in Los Angeles (Highland Park). A graduate of the UCLA film school and an advocate for equity in arts education. Her prose and poetry have been published in many journals, including The Ekphrastic Review, Kelp/the Wave, The Los Angeles Press, Nixes Mate Review,, and The New Verse News. She recently finished writing her first novel, People Who Love You.

TREE HUGGERS

by Darcy Grabenstein

In days gone by, “tree hugger”
was used as a slur by some
to describe those granola-crunching types
who wrapped themselves around tree trunks
to prevent loggers and the like
from committing acts of deforestation
To others, “tree hugger” 
comes as a compliment,
describing devoted environmentalists
who care about the earth
about sustainability
about what will be left for the next generation
And now, “tree hugger” describes
those holding on for dear life
as bone-crunching ICE goons
commit acts of deportation
tearing innocents from their roots,
from their loved ones
Have you ever hugged a tree?
In Japan it’s called shinrin-yoku,
forest bathing, transferring
of life force from tree to human.
Native Americans hugged trees
to heal both body and soul.
Here, masked marauders
surrounded a woman seeking haven
using brute force 
to break her embrace
break her spirit
break all moral codes
I wish I could envelop this woman
in a big bear hug
tell her she is welcome here
she is safe here
tell her
she is home
 

A marketing writer by profession, Darcy Grabenstein turns to poetry as a creative and cathartic outlet. The theme of social (in)justice runs through many of her poems, and she longs for the day where her page will finally be blank.