WHAT THEY DON’T KNOW

by Shelly Blankman

Kids at school were cruel. They’d call her flaky. crazy, 

space cadet, airhead. She’d forget their names or where

she was going. School bells and fire alarms would echo

in her head, and her world would blur. The mockery was 

momentary. The misery would be incessant.

The last week of school, classmates autographed her 

yearbook with the labels and comments they’d hurled

to her at school. The five-minute walk home was endless.

At home, she flopped on her bed and muffled her sobs

with pillows, bursting her dam of tears.

No one knew what she’d been through. No one knew she’d

had brain surgery as a child. No one knew she had epilepsy.

Everyone could see her big head. The boys would flick it and

tug at her hair when the teacher wasn’t looking. She would 

wince, but dared not weep. Feigning fearlessness was her

armor that would be rusted by tears. As time passed, the bullies

were gone, but some labels remain.

Gus Walz stands in full view of the nation. His dad is running

for vice-president of the United States. His son has a nonverbal

learning disorder. He has no armor. He needs no armor. His dad

starts to speak. That’s my dad! he yells to the audience. His tears

flow freely. They are borne of pride, not shame. Cameras focus on him.

His tears of pride are posted on computers coast to coast. His

joy is fodder for their jokes. 

They knew there was something wrong with him.What they don’t

know is kindness. They have much to learn from people like Gus.  

Author’s Note: Gus Walz at the DNC being bullied by adults who should know better reminded me of own experience of being bullied in school for behavior that no one understood

Shelly Blankman lives in Columbia, Maryland with her husband of 44 years. They have two sons, Richard and Joshua, who live in New York and Texas, respectively. They have filled their empty nest with four rescue cats and a dog. Richard and Joshua surprised Shelly with the publication of her first book of poetry, Pumpkinhead. Her poems have appeared in The Ekphrastic Review, Verse-Virtual, Muddy River Poetry Review, and Open Door Magazine, among others.

IDENTIFYING CHRIST

by Joy Kreves

In his final speech in court before his latest conviction, Navalny quoted the Bible: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” —Yahoo! News, February 16, 2024

No, Donald Trump is not America’s Navalny. —The Washington Post, February 16, 2024

On the one hand

a living carcass of a coward

who leads the GOP by nose ring

 

On the other

the now dead Navalny

who suffered then died for democracy for all

 

One, belly expanded 

with the gaseous stench 

of mockery and hatred

 

The other, thinned frame 

filled with wit and love

and bravery

 

Even a toddler could discern

which is more Christ-like

yet half of America remains confused

Joy Kreves is a New Jersey artist/poet, member of DVP/US1 Poets.  She has had work published in art exhibition catalogs and in WORKSHEETS Anthologies 2022 & 2023.  She says, I still remember grade school lessons on The Golden Rule.  We had to pledge allegiance to the flag of our country.  These lessons were reinforced in Sunday School.  I am baffled by the ability of so many to justify rude, dishonest, selfish and traitorous behavior.  What were they taught as children?  

[muh-nip-yuh-ley-shuh n]

by Rémy Dambron



  oil pastel drawing manipulated in photoshop by u/monealiza


the art of manipulation
is not about making people
do what you want them to do
but rather getting them to
want to do what you want
them to do so if you tell a lie
that is big enough and tell it
often enough people will
believe it is true first identify
what it is those people like
then work backwards and
direct their desires toward the
goal you want to achieve then
empower yourself and people
who will help you stay in power
empathize with other abusers
and people whose actions
mirror or rival the severity of
yours embrace an opportunity
to profit from others welcome
an opportunity to disparage
anyone cherish an opportunity
to create chaos employ
psychological manipulation (a
form of social influence that
aims at advancing the goals of
the manipulator through the use
of underhanded indirect and
deceptive tactics) showcase
expert knowledge (you are an
expert if you insist that you are)
harness association bias (the
tendency to associate truth with
people you like rather than with
facts) engage in name calling
(anything goes) mockery (a must)
insults (the more outrageous the
better) imitation (of people who are
a threat to you) intimidation (of
people who are a threat to you)
threats (against people who might
expose you) bullying (people who
stand up to you) and gaslighting
(manipulative tactic used to gain
power and assert dominance over
a victim by forcing them to
question and challenge their own
sanity)

Rémy Dambron is an environmentalist and advocate for social justice. His works have appeared in Naturewriting.com, What Rough Beast, and Poets Reading the News. In a time when freedom of speech is being attacked by the very people sworn to protect it, he chooses to write poetry because he believes it is among the most democratic forms of literature, as it can be accessed by everyone and created by anyone.