the men in the white house want me dead
Victoria Carmen White
Islan Nettles
Kelly Stough
Nikki Kuhnhausen
Brayla Stone
Ariyanna Mitchell
Cherry Bush
Dream Johnson
I repeat their names under my breath, so no one hears
Victoria Carmen White
Islan Nettles
Kelly Stough
Nikki Kuhnhausen
Brayla Stone
Ariyanna Mitchell
Cherry Bush
Dream Johnson
I clench my fists hard when I leave work at night
Victoria Carmen White
Islan Nettles
Kelly Stough
Nikki Kuhnhausen
Brayla Stone
Ariyanna Mitchell
Cherry Bush
Dream Johnson
I listen to songs called “Bloody Revolutions” and “Systematic Death” and I feel my chest split open
They call it an “epidemic of violence”
The others say things like “species” and “virus”
I feel evil when I pray at night, knees on cold floor, head bowed in an imitation of what I think prayer ought to look like
“please god”
“please don’t let this killer be one of us”
“please give us a break”
“please keep my partner safe”
“he doesn't pass”
“please don’t hurt my best friend”
“please don’t kill my family”
“amen”
I hope, selfishly and cruelly, that the rapture comes
That me and my family are left behind
That we watch the others rise into the sky
And then we will be alone
Safe
Victoria Carmen White
Islan Nettles
Kelly Stough
Nikki Kuhnhausen
Brayla Stone
Ariyanna Mitchell
Cherry Bush
Dream Johnson