Author's Note: This is the first poem from Robert Lee Brewer's April Poem a Day Challenge that I thought worthy of posting. Assignment "What would the world be like without you.
(with gratitude to deceased poet Laura Hershey)
Two more dead 18-year-olds, a decade ago...
newspapers would’ve discovered them
blue and frostbitten one morning
from sleeping in a stairwell at UMass
and make some callous comment about
New England winters are unkind
to the lodging less.
Now one’s a dad.
The other still a work in progress.
One less ADAPT freedom fighter
willing to place body and budget
in cross hairs to secure an end to
institutional bias.
One less person who dared today
to -as deceased mentor put it
in poem that decorates workspace-
“ show something you’ve made
to someone you respect
and be happy with it no matter
what they say."
One less queer, brown, gimp, chick poet
who adores obliterating bigotry
and sharing self story across multiple generations.
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