Darling Dissident,

I haven’t written

In a while

Because honestly

I feel the pinch

Don’t you?

The uncomfortable squeeze

Of an atmospheric dress

You got too big for

I’m tired of living

In correctness

I’m tired

Of the uninspired

Unforgiving dullness

Of

“Say what I like

Or say nothing.”

Or worse

“Do what I approve of

or you cease to be human.”

The Russian roulette

That speaking your mind

Has become

Leaves little appeal

Little room

For artistic

Or even mildly interesting

Thoughts

To take hold

Much less

Flower into anything

Worth smelling

We live in the line of Shakespeare

“The times are wild:

contention, like a horse

Full of high feeding,

madly hath broke loose

And bears down all before him.”

The dark ages

Were dark

For a reason

People lived like

Light

Was in fact

Darkness

Deserving of

It’s rightful

Extinguishment

Everyone was afraid

Everyone was a witch

To be burned

A heretic

To be boiled

A dissident

To be made an example

Censorship

However valiant

It’s end aim may seem

Does very little

Except to

Concentrate Power

In those

Who would abuse it

It puffs up

The educated imbecile

Smothers

The wildflowers

Of free thought

Yes

Even if it’s “science’

“Religion”

“Government propaganda dressed up like Gospel”

The current effort

To knight the nobleness

Of cancellation

Should be repulsive to all

All who enjoy

Making decisions

For yourself

Are you still with me?

Here

I will surely lose you

But once more

Into the breach

I don’t give a good God damn

Consequently

Neither should you

About whoever does

Or doesn’t

Get any sort of shot

Treatment

Procedure

Or medical enhancement

My health

How I pursue it

Maintain it

Is my business

So is yours

Yes

Even in a Pandemic

Yes

Even if it’s cancer

Or what you eat

Yes

Even if I don’t agree with your choices

Even if you

Hate mine

The cost of policing each other

In that way

Is too high

Too insidious

I support your autonomy

I will not relinquish mine

Not without the use of firearms

Yes

I have those

Still with me?

Maybe you are thinking

“Who is this person? I thought I liked her. I thought she was like me. I thought she was artistic and educated.”

Isn’t that

The rub

I’m not like you

I don’t expect you

To be like me

To earn your right

To speak

To think

To question

To breath

To get injected

To decline

To cover

To uncover

To be human

In whatever way

Seems best to you

Full disclosure

I have no degrees

I never even wanted one

*insert disappointed gasp

A ballet dancer

Turned minister

Turned Party Scene

Turned Stylist

Sometimes

Poet

Now Mother of three

Existing in the humbling rapture

That is parenting while outnumbered

So now

That there’s no one

Maybe one or two left

I’ll go ahead and tell you

As the business

Of being compliant

Seems

To zip itself

A little too tightly

Over us all

I flat fucking refuse

To hate you

To try to silence you

To demote your humanity

Because I have been told

To fear it

Even if what I have plinked out

Onto this keyboard

Means

You hate me

You judge me

You delete me

You move me

To another partition

In your mind

This is not

My bid for nobility

Being a martyr

Is not a gig I’m interested in

I’m not holy

Or infallible

Or “educated”

I’m only as human

As you are

I can cook

For a crowd

But I don’t mind

Eating alone

I was raised to believe

All are equal

However inconvenient that may be

To anyone’s

Worldview

To my “likes”

Or to the number of people

That want to sit with me

Perhaps

In clearing away

The nonsense

The clog of collective conformity

We can return

Or rather

Finally arrive

At a reality

Better

Than normal