They spun her too, thismother of five from Detroitbecause this is whatthey do- paint them asterrorists domesticdefamation is necessaryto deflect fromthe murderthis is what they donothing new tosee heresame old same oldstand up for yourneighborsyour fellow human travelersand you toowill be trashedby the powerful. In a world oftrash talkersstand up anywaysit is the only thingtoContinue reading “Viola Liuzzo”
Author Archives: Anne Birkam
Gold
They say that itcannot staybut why would youwant it to?Better the bluebirdiridescentin a flutteror the bark of hackberrygrooving on the river. The world is made of precioustrue with breath and soulreminding me ofevery bit of soil – theyouth I came fromlife so glorious aroundleave the gaudy behind usdance to leafmusic of the frog. 12/2025
Delores Haze
They had to fleeactorsdirectorsin the crosshairsbetween truthand dystopialife under dictatorsof a religious bend sacred fighow your seed does grow this is why Ilisten to the cardinal sing –chip –move frombranch to branch –they know, this pair,dependent upon each otherthat predators withbeaks that grindand claws that strikeloom everywhere this is why Istand my groundtell the truthContinue reading “Delores Haze”
50,000 names
How long does it taketo recite 50,000 namesdue process on the runfrom those who are detainedthe landscapersthe pickersthey clean your toilets toooh what will you dowhat will you dothe names – they are recordingso let us start with thisperhaps fifty in a minutemore or less more or lessthe better part of a daywill bring themContinue reading “50,000 names”
Eichmann in the Everglades
This is howthe story goesso familiar –a genealogyfor the agessmall Black babyfed to the gatorsan image circulatedamongst thosewho are nevertoo embarrassedto embracebanality. We have readthis storyso many times –aren’t yousick of it yet?Doesn’t thisfamiliar showget on your nervesyet? I don’t supposeso sinceit keeps getting toldover and overagain. 7-4-2025
What’s in a name
Nothing muchI guesswhen it getsslandered in the mediaby powerful forcesintent on neveradmitting to error above humanI guessthey are incapableof making mistakes meanwhile a good man’sname is tatteredtorn asunderrocked by poisonouswords language is powerfulbut so istruthand slanderonly knows lies 6/2025
Sacred spaces
The birds are singing here –this April morningchaffinches and blackbirds and titsgive a chorus of delightand a wood pigeon hasfound material to builda nest and I wonderwas this song this musicrising then? April 1945when a previous generationsof Americans entered herethis route I walk fromthe barracks to thecrematoriumthe land soaked indisregard for due processtruthhonorand I can’tContinue reading “Sacred spaces”
The Danes
They have dealt with thisbefore-in a previous centuryaggressioninvasionoccupationbent on torturedemeaningdehumanizingless thanyou know how it goes -they have dealt with thisbefore-don’t assume they will breakthey did not breakwhen Christian* held the crown Dear sweet Greenlandthey will not break now *Christian X King of Denmark from 1912-1947 4/4/2025
The Morass
There was a photographer –I read about him –who went to the wetlandsto photograph a bird,a red winged blackbirdearly enough in the morningto catch the bird’s breath And of course this is wherehe came – the edge of theworld, land foundering inthe notion of ownershipas if anything wildcan actually be owned But it is hereContinue reading “The Morass”
Christmas in Ecuador
Darwin thought he was uglyAmblyrhynchus cristatus*this agile swimmerwith a diet of algaebut oh how they light upnear each otherlike a tree in glorywith a star on topmating brings out thejewels they trulyare in this place wherethe two legged beastHomo sapiens thatbreeder of malevolencehas barely tried to live Seems water might benecessary after all –not optionalContinue reading “Christmas in Ecuador”
Anne's mediocre poetry 