must’ve been rigged

Poetry by Linda M. Crate § Art by Aparna Mendu

must’ve been rigged

the results are in

misogyny and hatred have

won,

and how am i supposed to

come to terms with

this?

i feel sick—

don’t feel proud to be an

american or live in

the united states

because i don’t even know if i’m

free

because a pussy grabbing, sexist, woman

hating, fear mongering racist

against lgtbq is

in office;

today is the day we late hate win—

i fear for myself and for

my friends,

and i despise that people are proud

of the choice they made to

elect this man;

have they no soul or conscience?

i don’t understand

how this could have happened,

and despite all his protesting;

i swear this must’ve been

rigged.

• linda m. crate

america was never great

people say

no matter what we must

keep moving on,

and to stay

positive;

but i cannot help but be

negative

when i know this can’t

be good—

“make america great again”

are you people mad?

when was it

great?

when we stole the land from

the natives and killed them in the

name of God?

when we spit on the Irish?

when we instituted slavery or segregation?

tell me when has america

been great?!

we were all given brains,

but sometimes i think

only a few of us

use them;

how else could this happen?

people don’t truly have this much hate

in their hearts;

i can’t believe that

this all has to be some misunderstanding

because love is the only power

that can save us.

• linda m. crate

 

i stand against injustice

my heart

is peace, love, light,

hope, and

understanding;

but i cannot

fathom this—

i feel

as if i’m on the outside

of the universe

looking in,

and i bet even aliens would be

screaming, “why?” right

now—

i stand beside the mothers,

the sisters, the wives, the women, the

disabled, the daughters, the aunts,

the friends, the lgbtq, the latinos, the

blacks, the muslims,  the elderly,

the journalist, and

anyone else

trump doesn’t support;

i stand for justice and for hope and for peace

will not stop fighting until we’re all

treated with honor and respect—

i don’t know how america

could make so poor

a decision,

but i feel really ill;

this feels like a nightmare from which i have

yet to wake.

• linda m. crate

 

are you truly proud?

what could go wrong

electing a bully

into office

who has been rumored to have

read mein kampf before,

and who’s grabbed women by the pussy and has

been alleged to have raped a thirteen

year old girl among other

sexual allegations?

we’re making america great

by spreading hate and fear mongering?

well, that’s a different

greatness than what

i’m striving for;

peace, love, hope, dreams, light, perserverance,

kindness, virtue

these are the things i am fighting

for—

i cannot believe that we let hate and fear

win

it’s irrational and stupid,

and what are you going

to explain to your daughters or your wives when their

rights are taken away?

what are you going to say to the disabled, the elderly,

the black, the latino, the lgbtq, and women in

your life when they’re persecuted?

what will you say to the

journalists that will have to survive witch hunts

and fbi probes?

please do tell them how your hate

superseded your common sense,

and how your love could not be found;

then we’ll see how proud you are

of your decision.

• linda m. crate

 

let me punch you in the face

if you only voted

for trump

because you’re pro-life

let me punch you

in the face

because the issues were much

deeper than that,

and you failed

to recognize it;

the rights of other human beings

were at stake,

and you blew

it;

don’t come crying to me for help

when he’s against you

too—

i tried to warn you,

but no;

we’re going to make america great again

catchy slogan but it has no merit

because america was

never great—

i don’t know what to do

cannot accept this,

and i cannot afford to leave

like others have

threatened to;

i feel stuck and trapped and sick

and uncertain

i don’t know where to go from here—

all i can do is fight

for what is right and true and pray

somehow we all get through

this.

• linda m. crate

i hope you’re glad

i hope you’re glad today

some of my friends

are living in

fear

because they’re lgbtq,

and your president

is threatening to take their

protection away;

and i will never say he’s my president

because i didn’t vote for

him—

i hope you’re glad today

that women might

lose their

rights,

and we might be plunged into some dark age

because you want to make america

great again;

and all you crazy pro-life fanatics

praising his win

are you really pro-life or just pro-birth

because there’s a difference?

i hope you’re glad today

that the statue of liberty is mourning

i’m surprised the french have not

taken her back to spare us

from our turmoil,

and i hope you’re glad that i’m terrified

of the future

because of your choice.

• linda m. crate

Linda M. Crate is a Pennsylvanian native born in Pittsburgh yet raised in the rural town of Conneautville. Her poetry, short stories, articles, and reviews have been published in a myriad of magazines both online and in print. Recently her two chapbooks A Mermaid Crashing Into Dawn (Fowlpox Press – June 2013) and Less Than A Man (The Camel Saloon – January 2014) were published. Her fantasy novel Blood & Magic was published in March 2015. The second novel of this series Dragons & Magic was published in October 2015.  Her poetry collection Sing Your Own Song is forthcoming through Barometric Pressures Series.