Policy & Change: A Diptych
I.
Legislators, take back
the Izhmash Saigon 12-gauge semiautomatic shotgun,
the Bushmaster Model XM15-E2S .223-caliber semiautomatic rifle,
the Glock 20 10mm semiautomatic handgun,
& the Sig Sauer P226 9mm
semiautomatic handgun used
at Sandy Hook Elementary School
the morning of December 14.
Legislators, take back the weapons
he left at home that day—
his Savage Mark II bolt-action .22-caliber rifle
his Enfield Albian bolt-action .323-caliber rifle
& his Volcanic .22-caliber starter pistol not used
at Sandy Hook Elementary School
the morning of December 14
because no one can bring back
Noah Pozner, 6
Charlotte Bacon, 6
Daniel Barden & Grace McDonnell, both 7
Jack Pinto & Jesse Lewis, both 6
Dylan Hockley, 6,
murdered
at Sandy Hook Elementary School
the morning of December 14.
No one can bring back
Jessica Rekos & Ana Marquez-Greene, both 6
Madeleine Hsu, Olivia Engel, & James Mattioli, each 6
Chase Kowalski & Josephine Gay, both 7
Catherine Hubbard, Emilie Parker, Caroline Previdi, Avielle Richman,
Benjamin Wheeler, & Allison Wyatt, all 6,
murdered
at every American school
every morning of every December 14.
II.
Legislators, take back
the Smith & Wesson AR-15,
the Oasis Outback in Uvalde, TX,
the Daniel Defense rifle for $1,870 plus tax,
& @salv8dor_
with his lil secret
for Robb Elementary School
the morning of May 24.
Legislators, take back the blood
he left at home that day—
his abuela Sally Martinez Gonzalez, 66
her face & voice gone
her jaw & teeth shattered by the bullet
before Robb Elementary School
the morning of May 24
because no one can bring back
Jackie Cazares, 9
Makenna Lee Elrod, 10
Irma Garcia & Eva Mireles, both teachers
Nevaeh Bravo & Jose Flores, Jr., both 10
Ellie Garcia, 9,
murdered
at Robb Elementary School
the morning of May 24.
No one can bring back
Xavier Lopez & Tess Mata, both 9
Rojelio & Eliahna Torres, Annabell Rodriguez, & Jayce Levuanos, each 10
Uzayah Garcia,
Jaila Silguero & Amerie Garza, both 10
Lexi Rubio & Alithia Ramirez, 10,
& Layla Salazar with Maranda Mathis, both 11
murdered
at every American school
every morning of every May 24.
A Feminist Reading of Turner’s Seascape
Life-Boat and Manby Apparatus, Going Off
to a Stranded Vessel Making Signal (Blue Lights) of Distress
She hears the waves’ hoary aching, their laments
stalling and wrecked. Could it be Amphitrite
disagreeing with Poseidon in the sudden upsurge
of waves? She despises the sand. It consumes her feet
and hopes as she rushes this icy galaxy of wreckage.
She pursues tales of a world below the surface, whispering
Where are the royal banquets and can you take me there?
Daughters flank her like fingertips of rose, child
remnants from the twirling blaze of a dawn
turned ashen. They lean into the porous black. Tripod
of femininity eager to pick at patens of seaweed,
they are foils to a forbidden sorcery eroding
the horizon— the heat-veined sea, her body. Its rhythm
and tension more than female, nothing tumbles back
to them but iridescent shells swathed in secrets.
She fingers a broken shell to test its sharpness.
Her daughters follow suit. Soon they begin scraping
the aragonite edges across the coarse-grade linen held taut
as a woman framed by patriarchy. Soon they tear through
Turner’s painting — it loosens into flaps. They exit.
Behind them the impasto sea parts like the lips of Amphitrite
as she leaves Poseidon and begins to smile.
Actually, You Can
I mean if you really try
just put your adolescent mind to it
maybe wake up
before noon
or peel the Beats from your ears
for a few moments
you can even open the door to your room
just a sliver
perhaps join us at the dinner table
give the impression at least
that you are one of us
& then before you know it you can actually
be one of us
even wearing our rented bowling shoes
eating cheese fries on a Saturday night
but not until you give it your all
truly believe
& stop underestimating yourself
repeatedly exclaiming
I can’t even
Flights, Issue Nine, June 2023
Flight of the dragonfly 