Make It New
I forget how to render myself
in attachment to the world.
Taking a selfie in the hospital mirror
in case I, you know, die.
A final photograph of me
being painfully morose.
I admit I got really corny this time
about my body being a vessel.
You got me, God. I thought
you were serious.
Like, I was really about to
kit out that boat,
put a uterus in my uterus
just to have an extra one for show.
Landlocked now
in the high grass of death
walled in by the panic of cicadas
I let rain trample me flat
as a cluster of ditch lilies
while I breathe in
the recommended exhaust.
Anesthesia sloughs off my skin
so a forge of white heat
can shine up my skeleton,
making me new.
As that fucker Ezra Pound insisted.
Show me violence
and suddenly I’m all aesthetic.
Here’s that pain you ordered,
artisanal, perfect.
Leaving blood on the page
as directed. Not red, but
crimson, scarlet. You like it?
Great, you can keep it
sharp. Observe me closely.
Looking gorgeously dead inside.
Letting moonlight hit me
like a night-blooming rose.
Become a Sustaining Donor This September
Between the reemergence of right-wing red-baiting and Donald Trump’s use of the chilling National Security Presidential Memorandum–7 to criminalize left political organizing, we’re seeing McCarthyism reborn before our eyes.
This assault on democracy cannot be ignored or wished away. Resisting it requires bravery in the face of threats and repression, a steadfast commitment to the truth, and the unwavering belief that we can—and will—overcome this darkness.
We must have an independent media that sets the record straight, unearths corruption and abuses of power, and advances a politics of justice and dignity for all if we’re to win this fight.
That’s why I’m writing to you today. This September, The Nation needs to add 100 monthly donors to sustain our progressive journalism. Your contribution makes the next investigative report, the next truth-speaking column, and the next pathbreaking essay all possible.
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Onward,
Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation
