A Room of My Own: Land of the Un/Free

Between Heaven and Hell, IX

my body, my choice 

penetrating the distant chants

of U-S-A!

I gaze at Lady Liberty’s

forward-facing charge

to the clicking

of cameras in a row

the Convicted Felon

proclaims, I will protect

the women ... like it or not

ka-kis-to-cracy ...

my English teacher's voice

quivering

as U-S-A! chants get louder

from the crowd outside the school

in morning chill

a youth gazes at the billboard

dripping red:

your body, My choice painted

over my body, my choice

FYI: The first part of kakistocracy comes from the Greek kákisto(s), meaning “worst.” Therefore, kakistocracy means “government by the WORST.” 

The New Yorker, Nov.14: A New Rallying Cry for the Irony-Poisoned Right: It took less than twenty-four hours after Trump’s reëlection for young men to take up a slogan that could define the coming era of gendered regression: “Your body, my choice.” 

And PBS, Oct.31: Trump: I will 'protect the women' ... 'like it or not'

Added: This Brave New World, CXVII

6M-dollar worth

of one banana duct-taped

to the gallery wall

the rift between the Gilded-rich

and the Working-poor un/seen ...

FYI: BBC News, Nov. 21: Duct-taped banana artwork sells for $6.2m in NYC. 

And L4 refers to the Gilded Age, from 1870s to 1900 in American history. The term was coined by Mark Twain and was used to describe an age characterized by corruption, but covered over with gold. 

The slogan of the Gilded Age: Get rich, dishonestly if we can, honestly if we must.

Added: No More Fairy Tales, XXXVIII

raven shadow

after raven shadow

COP29

opens and closes as the banner

Climate Change, frays at its edges

FYI: Primarily living in semi-deserts and deserts, but now more and more "brown-necked ravens" (larger birds, 52–56 cm in length) are found in the urban area of Baku, Azerbaijan.

GlobalIssues, Nov.26: Why COP29 Baku Outcome is a Bad Deal for Poor, Vulnerable Nations

The promise of a USD 1.3 trillion of climate finance in line with what developing countries wanted rings hollow, for the text does not lay out the road map for how the funds are to be raised, postponing the issue to 2025. Even more concerning, Baku seems to have set things in motion for wealthy nations to distance themselves from their financial responsibility to vulnerable nations in the jaws of a vicious climate crisis.

And The Nation, Nov.27: The “Worst COP” Concludes With a “Heartbreaking” Climate-Finance Deal

Activists say the climate agreement effectively signed away the 1.5-degree Celsius target—”our only real chance to safeguard humanity’s future.”