YOU are FIERCE!
Maddie Jergensen, artist*
A Covering in the Shape of a Hood…
Terror comes to the front door. It slams up against a fortress.
When I peek out through the curtain covering the glass,
there’s a shadow in the shape of a hood.
A legislative agenda stands on my doorstep:
a law violating human rights, banning books,
attempting to eradicate a culture, and purge undesirables.
I’m a Florida writer with an LGBTQ story.
I grab my novel, add another brick to the wall,
and turn away. Like recessed lighting,
I tunnel deep.
How can you reconcile stepping up on a platform and risking the wrath of the governor? Would you encourage others to join in? It seems so much easier for the young, they’re more flexible in their thinking.
As the character arc in a novel, the protagonist faces conflicts,
grows, backslides, is wishy washy, finds courage, and discovers
their new voice. They may, in the last chapter, throw off the
sad sack and fearlessly begin a social media campaign
throwing light on a legislative agenda in the shape of a hood.
You pull back the covering and open the front door.
A Cover OR Cover Up?
The luggage in the crawl space, leaving or staying, giving in or fighting, the persecution of a culture, ethnicity, gender, a denial of human rights, an agenda in the shape of a hood…
A book jacket stirring up vitriol, resulting in chaos and fear, restricting access, prohibiting instruction, harming education, fueled by hate, legislation in the shape of a hood…
The scent of orange blossoms hover, the citrus industry fouling the soil, a mega deal to clean up what they ruin, a political agenda helping big business, harming human rights, an indictment in the shape of a hood…
A lamp shade, diffusing light, distracting constituents from serious problems in the infrastructure, red tide, toxic run-off, fish kills, keeping the focus on abortion, gender identity, LGBTQ, enacting a law in the shape of a hood…
The dark glasses concealing the truth, disguising intentions, wrapped around a law violating the rights of human beings, a travesty in the shape of a hood…
The lid on the storage container, restricting access, censoring books, boxing up titles, generating fear-based guidelines in the shape of a hood…
[…in the State of Florida]
I originally wrote “A Covering in the Shape of a Hood,” in a daily rant on Twitter.
Thank you for subscribing to Get Gutsy. This is our “fierce” edition. Please feel free to add your own "roar” in the COMMENTS. I love hearing what you think and keeping in contact with you.
*This art technique according to Maddie, “Scratchboard is a sheet of paper with a layer of ink on top and clay underneath. You use a tool like an exact-o knife to scratch away the ink.”
Fiercely yours,
Trish
Link for my novel, Paper Bags: https://woodhallpress.com/paper-bags
Fierce is a terrific word.
So is gutsy.
And persisted.
Stay fierce, Trish.