Photography © Jack Marty

 

New Normal

Today, I drove my daughter to school
and considered the end of democracy.
While this happened, people starved,
simple as that.
Also, there are the murdered
in the boats we keep bombing.
Fishermen, most likely.
I drove my daughter to school
and we were both sleepy.
For me, it was staying up late
reading Bob Kaufman
but I’m not sure what was up with her.
(I’ve long since stopped trying
to get her to bed early.)
I considered the end of health care,
maybe of medicine, itself.
Last night my mother slipped from her bed
as she tried to understand
how to change her diaper.
I hope she was just drunk, but I can’t be sure.
Not much works anymore.
There are Christians everywhere, demanding blood.
There are masked agents
kidnapping children in our names, yours and mine.
There are soldiers in the streets
and laws against holding opinions.
My daughter hates school, but she goes.
I try to walk upright, but everything is hard.
In a few hours I will pick up my daughter
and we might go somewhere for an interesting coffee.
She likes iced shaken espresso with vanilla cold foam,
so I like it, too.
While we drink our coffee, people will die.
It’s that simple.

 

Jeff Weddle is the Alabama Beat Poet Laureat (2024-2026). He hates the thought police, fascism, and beef liver. He thinks you are pretty swell, however.

Jack Marty takes photos when he feels like it. He thinks long bios get in the way of the work.