Second Coming No. 84 — April 13, 2025

A poem-a-day protest against the threat posed to our democracy by the current occupant of the White House

Rosanne English
The Skull

I lit the skull candle
with the intention

of burning it down.
It’s been waxing

on the console
a year. The wick

is charred. I turn
the record player on

and listen to Brat
by Charli xcx—

wonder about green,
apples, girls,

and meaning.
I can vote early

today if I want
in Orangetown.

But maybe I want to wait
for Election Day. To feel

the atmosphere at Grace Church.
The flame is high.

My dog licks her inner thigh.

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Rosanne English holds an MFA from NYU and is working on her first collection. She lives in the Hudson Valley.

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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.

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Find out how to submit poems or flash prose pieces to Second Coming.

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