snickerdoodles
geri sees
the big fat president on tv
and says
she hates all white men
then amy says to her
well, why are you dating one?
living with one, if you feel that way?
geri sees
the genocide in palestine
and swears she’s going to move there
to help save lives and alleviate her guilt
then amy rolls her eyes and says to her
geri, but you claim you’re so queer and so woke
don’t you know they’ll cut your head off for that over there?
geri went to HR for that one
amy went to HR too
they haven’t spoken in a month
sometimes
there’s still a little tension here
but sometimes
marilyn brings in her homemade cookies
snickerdoodles
and we forget
the politics for a while
and the fact
that we spend
all the good hours
most of our lives here
together too.
John Grochalski is the author of five poetry collections, three novels, and the novella Wolves of Berlin Play Amateur Night at the Flute and Fiddle Pub (Alien Buddha Press 2024). He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
