Evie Shockley
owed to shirley chisholm:
a nation outrageous in its hunger
for heart (not hearts) and enough sun-touching
ladders to go around : hearty anger
unquenched by wet (american) (crutching)
dreams, unmuted by the sound of rising
dough : yards of respect wrapped round her shoulders,
more warming than fur because comprising
her due as a woman who ate boulders
for breakfast, bravely : credit for having
an analysis of power sharper
than sapphire's tongue, and props for behaving
like a natural woman, a world-shaper
who deserved a room—a trust—of her own :
the oval office : democracy's throne.
