It’s a Daisy

It’s a Daisy

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Bats twin the sky
drowsy from billowing home
to watch Night Court.

I, Nikki, as a contemporary
woman: is bound to ask
who’s spiraling in the faucet.

If you keep no-lye relaxers
on your hair past the
suggested time frame,

the original crimple pattern
becomes more defiant.
Memories won’t comfort me,

perhaps it’s best not to trust
the politics of people who
haven’t washed their own
dishes in twenty years.

O missile management,
I request a transfer 4 the masses
a happy howling cocktail showing

instead of telling this country
That. I. Cannot. With. You.
A freed daylight may be possible,

the revolt in us, I mean. Stems
are still holding like a grown up
but they snap. You pick me up,

pour me another bath, a glass
of something dry for the blisters,
read Ted Joans’ Hand Grenades

remember that
I’m not the only one and cry.

We cannot back down

We now confront a second Trump presidency.

There’s not a moment to lose. We must harness our fears, our grief, and yes, our anger, to resist the dangerous policies Donald Trump will unleash on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as journalists and writers of principle and conscience.

Today, we also steel ourselves for the fight ahead. It will demand a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis, and humane resistance. We face the enactment of Project 2025, a far-right supreme court, political authoritarianism, increasing inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis, and conflicts abroad. The Nation will expose and propose, nurture investigative reporting, and stand together as a community to keep hope and possibility alive. The Nation’s work will continue—as it has in good and not-so-good times—to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth-telling and deep reporting, and to further solidarity in a nation divided.

Armed with a remarkable 160 years of bold, independent journalism, our mandate today remains the same as when abolitionists first founded The Nation—to uphold the principles of democracy and freedom, serve as a beacon through the darkest days of resistance, and to envision and struggle for a brighter future.

The day is dark, the forces arrayed are tenacious, but as the late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

I urge you to stand with The Nation and donate today.

Onwards,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

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