by Maura H. Harrison

I. For the Persecutor

And where were you that day? [hung from a pipe]
Vacation? [left for days, left for three days]
July [electric shocks to pits and thighs]
Twentieth [water then intensified]
In nineteen ninety-nine? [the burning skin]

And now? [detention centers, labor camps]
Two thousand twenty-four? [harvested organs]
This persecution [pinned, pinned down, force-fed]
Still [there are guards, police, interrogation]
Goes on [the horror keeps on hanging on].

II. For the Persecuted

Come truthfulness—anxiety at bay—
Compassion—anger tamed and led away—
Forbearance—wisdom’s inner joy—allay.

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Recognized as 4th Place in FoFG’s 2024 Poetry Contest