poem
Volume 36, Number 3

May Day Protest on the Capitol Steps

Little Rock, Arkansas

before the rally—
writing an emergency number
under my sleeve
   
    upside-down flag
lifts with a shift
in the breeze
protest “die-in”—
which hill to
die on?
   
    masked protestor
screams the loudest—
cloudy day
on the Capitol steps
all the signs
in capitals
   
    protest crowd—
baby boomer makes space
for the latecomer
street protest—
marchers argue about
which way to go
   
    from his fist to mine
a dissident passes
a red carnation
  across the protest
a black car with tinted windows —
I can't see who's watching
 


—Stacy Pendergrast