There is a crack in everything,
that’s how the light gets in.
~Leonard Cohen

Fear lines the crack that lets light in
eating at the edges of welcome
where free speech spits vitriol’s acid
fueled by tweeting trump –ets
from a president elect
playing victim to the media.
Everything’s bigly unfair.
Baldwin’s depiction
of his little asshole lips—
“A hit job.”

His conceit unleashes anger in petulant blusters,
demanding apologies with underlying threats
that thunder a pulse,
pounding pressure into a Pantsuit Nation
where pussies are protected
by Teflon tenacity
and women who widen the crack
beat at the edges of delusion,
facing fear with truth’s bright shine.

Brenda Warren 2016

Notes: This is in response to Elizabeth’s Creativity Challenge Day 1.