they made me watch question time
on a loop
forever
and every time i screamed
they added another episode
on another screen
until i faced a wall of it
wider than the horizon
brighter than any sky
any sun
any laser fired directly through the eye
and into the brain
and every time i wept
they turned the sound up
and up
and up
until the entire world throbbed
with ignorance
and hate
from which i could not escape
___________
Notes:
1. Written on October 29th, 2020
__________“If there’s doubt, say no.”
“How’s saying no going to help, mother? A big bull like that, once his head’s all addled by lust, ain’t no one’s going to stop him.”
“It’s up to him if he won’t hear you. You’ve done your part. Given him fair warning to stop.”
“And then what? Just lie back and let him have his way, safe in the knowledge that at least I protested?”
“Of course not, dearie,” the maid’s mother said. “You’ll gently put your hands around his neck, and with those lacquered nails of yours, slice those throbbing veins of his apart.”
She put down her scissors, and showed her daughter the mirror.
“That’s how I brought your father down to size.”
__________
Notes:
1. Written in February 2019
2. Upon waking from a dream.
2. Although the rest of the story faded quickly away
Persimmons
Tamarinds
Jujubes
Quinces
Watermelons
Huckleberries
Greengages
Ripe pears
Edible grapefruits
Forbidden anything
___________
Notes:
1. Written on October 29th, 2020
__________
__________
Notes:
1. Written on October 19th, 2020
__________
__________
Notes:
1. Written between May and July 2020
__________