Four orchid plants line the easterly windowsill in my study. The largest one given as a gift by a favorite student for writing his college recommendation letter. His ticket out. At the time, he was trying to come to terms with his own sexual identity… or more like he was trying to gauge who to trust with his secrets. * gauge /gāj/ verb measuring the magnitude, amount, or contents of something, typically with a visual display of such information * The bloom stem hangs heavily the weight of new petals shock of fleshy peach and fuchsia lips quivering with every atmospheric movement. This orchid hasn’t flowered in years the broad green leaves dry in a non-native environment forced hot air too little water lapses of sunlight. The nerve. I tried my best to kill it not counting on such resilience. * "Perhaps I should have taken angry or even more militant steps, both when I was in the agency, or after I left it. […] His conversations were very vivid. He spoke about acts that he had seen in pornographic films involving such matters as women having sex with animals and films showing group sex or rape scenes." — Anita Hill, opening statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee, October 11, 1991 * Over 25,000 species of orchids exist across continents. Some call that fascinating. * The legs part easily (you’re typically non-confrontational) an unraveling. He doesn’t bother to shut the lights. There are 13 cracks in the ceiling paint — two more than last time. He jokes that you’re counting sheep, yes, sleep would trump this awful awakening. * "I moved on her like a bitch." "It’s like a magnet." "Grab ‘em by the pussy. You can do anything." — 2005 * In John Steinbeck’s classic novel Of Mice and Men, Curley’s wife is lonely, unfulfilled, stuck in a loveless, possessive marriage. But how do you understand that when you’re 13-years-old, sitting in some 8th grade English class, thinking the world is pretty. And safe. The children say: "She should have known better." "Well, she was the one who went into the barn." "It was her fault." * #MeToo * I visited a sex therapist once. After he dropped that article about sexual dysfunction in my Facebook inbox. So I went. All appointments after hours. My car skidded through the icy parking lot, and I tiptoed up the three-story walk-up to an office stacked floor to ceiling with paperback books and overstuffed file folders. The therapist, young and blonde, sat behind the desk, a name plate bearing Mr. ______ facing me. Borrowed space. So in some strange man’s room, she asked me questions (why so many questions?), and I described [my sexual history]. On the report, she scribbled notes, ticked boxes. Said “Um hmm.” She advised me to find common ground — a hobby — in the relationship that was not based on sex. I nodded. And then it was over. * ground /ground/ verb 1. prohibit or prevent from flying 2. run or go aground * A “bomb-cyclone” came ashore and battered the Northeast just after the new year commenced, dumped piles of bitter snow as the wind howled at the windows like wild dogs. Surely the dusty miller in the front yard won’t make it through this one. * “I realise there’s something incredibly honest about trees in winter, how they’re experts at letting things go.” — Jeffrey McDaniel * In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” Mrs. Mallard’s comfy armchair is already facing the open window… * I think I like it the most when your fingers are lost in my hair. * in summer breeze orchid petals unfurl: pure oxygen

Poets Resist is published by Glass Poetry Press.
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