pence protest

i feel on my right side: safe

afraid: i feel on my left side

partway through the protest,

walking frustration bangs on the barrier

he says,

i just want a conversation!

we say,

what does it say about us[1] when our 

dialogue is between a podium 

and the protest outside?

[1] Sometimes I think the English language lacks because here there’s an infinite number of plural first persons, including the us out in the cold, the us that is the people protesting and the people listening to pence speak, and the us that is the people protesting and this person who doesn’t want acknowledge us exists at all.

—February 2022, Stanford, CA