Poem of the Week, by Shilpa Kamat

Friends, I’m leading a FREE creative writing workshop via Zoom on Friday, March 20, 1-4 pm Central Time. Rewriting the Story, Reclaiming the Self​ is designed for anyone living with the memories of abuse: bullying, domestic violence, an emotionally abusive relationship, a sexual or physical assault.​ Email me if you’d like to sign up. 

Remember when things used to not be evil? When life was normal? I overheard someone saying into their phone the other day, and I started to silently agree, then stopped.

Normal used to mean my grandmother couldn’t vote, my mother had to hide being pregnant with me to keep her job, that if you were gay you pretended you weren’t. Normal used to mean the legal enslavement of Black people.

If neighbors being abducted from their homes and sent to “detention” centers without due process begins to feel normal, if tiny children being gunned down in our schools begins to feel normal, if .1% of our population hoarding over half the money while most have no safety net at all begins to feel normal, then what’s evil?


the demons were never, by Shilpa Kamat 

evil just regular
                                      people who prayed
                                      and were granted

thunderbolts
ethers
                                      before their hearts
                                      were grown
enough to keep
up

For more information about Shilpa Kamat, please click here.

2 comments

  1. connieramsaybott's avatar
    connieramsaybott · 19 Minutes Ago

    Hi Alison

    I would like to join your Zoom workshop on March 20th from my home in the UK. I’m a US citizen, but have lived my adult life here. I have had short stories and poetry published both here and in the US.

    Please let me know if you have any questions or need further information. I’m not sure if Zoom calls work internationally, and wouldn’t want to cause you any hassle.

    Best regards Connie

    >

    Liked by 1 person

    • alisonmcghee's avatar
      alisonmcghee · 16 Minutes Ago

      Hi Connie, you are welcome to join the workshop on March 20. Zoom works internationally, so all you need to do is calculate the correct time zone. Please email me at alisonmcghee@gmail.com so that I can add you to the list. Thanks.

      Like

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