Another Poem About Liberals
Some of us use paper straws & take two minute showers
others schlepp coffee cups to Starbucks
to be filled with almond milk lattes
many of us separate paper & plastic for recycling
then yank plastic bags from the dispenser at Whole Foods
& fill them with crème fraîche, avocados & pine nuts
a few tell the server they will keep their plate, thank you
no need for a clean one for their entrée
of Atlantic salmon or T-bone steak
several car pool if convenient, maybe once a month
then fly to the Barbados or Cancun or Kauai
for lavish vacations in five star hotels
air conditioning blasting in each room
one of us planted a tree, another bought an LED light bulb
all of us feel virtuous about our choices, our laudable intentions
that leave us with a taste of piety on our tongues
none of us wants to look at islands of trash
floating in the Pacific, forests burning in Brazil
none of us wants to hear the thrum of extinction
marching steadily behind
finger bones pointing at our backs
Grey Witches
Three ancient sisters huddle together
passing one rheumy eye between them
each taking a turn, ten minutes max
bickering since only one can see the clock
each sister with a different perspective à la Freud
depending on how she was treated by her mother (never her father)
Deino afraid of everything, gulping Xanax by the fistful
staying home at night, watching sitcoms with curtains closed
Enyo a woman of rage, marching for gay rights, trans rights, squirrels’ rights
throwing fire bombs into right wing protesters, cheering as they explode
Pemphredo a visionary sending out alarms of rising waters,
bones on bleached deserts, wars fought with iron spears
three stygian witches who rule a swamp
three me’s with one eye between them
Claire Scott is an award winning poet who has received multiple Pushcart Prize nominations. Her work has been accepted by the Atlanta Review, Bellevue Literary Review, New Ohio Review, Enizagam and Healing Muse among others. Claire is the author of Waiting to be Called and Until I Couldn’t. She is the co-author of Unfolding in Light: A Sisters’ Journey in Photography and Poetry.
