Fish sticks & fascism

A deep bow of respect to each of you, my friends and readers. We’re each finding our way forward in this season of chaos and assault on beautiful things we value like basic human rights. None of us can save everything. But we can help each other pay attention when the desire to fall asleep to it all beckons. To close our eyes to it is a sign of our privilege. So many cannot afford to deny and look the other way. Use whatever privilege you embody to speak up for someone under target.

May we love ourselves deeply as we seek to stay awake and paying attention. Rest. Feel. Love. Act.

the rage lives in my forehead
she hisses her headaches
and overwhelm

i take a kid to
dance practice
and resist fascism

i empty the trash
and support friends
who are terrified

i make fish sticks
and regulate a nervous
system under attack

i disassociate for
26 minutes
of an episode
and pretend
that a wannabe
dictator isn’t
dismantling our
democracy one
day at a time

i know our work
is to organize
coordinate
deepen relationships
provide mutual aid
lean on each other
speak truth to power
practice joy
dig toes into soil
turn off the noise
refuse to let them
colonize our minds

and yet

sometimes the rage
needs a spotlight
because damn —
this is a ridiculously
jarring way to live