Ode to the Belt

Ode to the Belt

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it’s clear the future does not bode well for the living

my man wont let me forget where leather comes from

the engineered animal bent over in chemical grass

the slit thing hanged & blood slunkskin stripped

& tanned in order to keep a man decenti know

how to keep a manthe belt knows how to keep order

the sound of his unbuckling’s pavloviana sidewalk

split into drooling meat. he beats me into my evening

blush, i clutch pearls, eyes the color of a little red cloak.

bless this bridle wrapped around my throat while he

bloods me, bless the constricted windpipe’s unlikely music

bless any thing that can be remade to eke out pleasure

from stone, bless all this life thrashing against death’s

garish precipice, o bless me lord, bless me doorman,

bless me cormorant & courtship & torture & husbandry,

give me enough compression to remember i once lived

here & i’ll accept in the end not even death will wife me

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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