Second Coming No. 116 — May 15, 2025
A poem-a-day protest against the threat posed to our democracy by the current occupant of the White House and his regime
Pamela L. Laskin
A Prolonged Goodbye, to Jake
Precious grandson
celebrating seven
which means nothing
to you
but a gift
of an optic lens.
in Nazi Germany
you would have been
on the line
to the left
“life unworthy of life”
since you can’t speak
and no one knows
what’s inside,
they wouldn’t notice
your love
of pictures
a click of the camera—
with joy and precision—
especially when your family
is kissing and hugging
a prolonged
goodbye.
Pamela L. Laskin is the author of five poetry collections, the most recent of which are Trellises and Thorns (Dos Madres Press, 2024) and Words Unwhispered (Cervena Barva Press (October 21, 2023). Recent poems have appeared in eco-poetry.org, Mom Egg Review, Acoustic Levitation, and other journals. She is the former director of The Poetry Outreach Center at the City University of New York.
Indolent Books and editor Michael Broder are back with another poem-a-day series as a creative response to the threat posed to our democracy by the current occupant of the White House. The plan is to continue for all 1460 days of the 47th American presidency.
Find out how to submit poems or flash prose pieces to Second Coming.
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Strong, heart wrenching work.