Leslie Anne Mcilroy: Be Quiet

— March for Our Lives, Washington DC, 2018

.

Where we went today, we went

with the world. It was beautifully sad 

and the food was bad. The secret police 

wore shirts that said “secret police,” 

which makes one wonder. 

Even if Emma is a liberal puppet, 

her tears galvanized hundreds 

of thousands. Hundreds of thousands

listened to her cry in silence

and how can’t that change 

the face of the earth? I’m pretty 

sure it has, like I am sure 

whatever gods were looking 

down felt themselves age a bit, 

reach for a tissue and think 

about what they’ve done.

.

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Leslie Anne Mcilroy’s books include Slag (Main Street Rag, 2014). She lives and works in Pittsburgh.

Copyright 2021 Leslie Anne Mcilroy