h space g

by Hedwig Gorski

I lose all letters in my name
keeping secrets from murderers

my initials are h g
h for hitler’s g for girl
because like the proudest and biggest killer
father made known to me
he condemned the genius of his girl child
coming out of pretty upturned lips slapped shut

the hiding began
inside the small space
a cage of silence the pinkish room
the only exit was another sort
of Slavic Feast set with familiar anger
to die instead of letting father’s loathing kill
his daughters by cropping and chopping
the way those do using barbarous hands

tyrants inside and out the home
condemn with the shortened alphabet of prejudice
thin lipped unsmiling slanderous letters
choke us with their greed for oxygen
like Cheneys lately risen from the dead
drooling zombie words onto his shoes at Trump’s party of niet

Man’s dignity seems worthless without capital
how many dollars must one covetous old frump stuff in his pockets
clever to hide corporate greed inside altruism
compassion salvation democracy caring for seniors   religion
morality   slander   fascism   socialism   fear
censorship   punishment   capitalists’
secret obscure code to hide their bulging larder
they keep most of us struggling hardly standing
without health and education enough
against hot winds these struggles distract us
from his chin spilling bulbous lies
gavage with synthetic truth
burns revoltingly the throat
and obscures the message of my face and name