Poem: Replacements

Posted On May 17, 2021

our beauty has been stolen from us
we are brainwashed to accept
concrete in place of marble
rusty steel beams
square blocks hostile to our hands

brute English in place of our singing tongues
jeans in place of frothy skirts
blubber and obscenities

gruff scowls in place of smiles
despair trumps hope
wine and cats replace husband and kids
and vapid lawns replace flowers and fruit
(if we’re lucky; otherwise, just asphalt)

the death cult rules all
and tolerates no glimmer
of happy pink ruffles
or smiling resistance