… from “This Again” by Bob Hicok (published November 5, 2023), which begins:
The recommendation from some website quoted on the news
is to rape, cut the throats of, and throw female Jews
off a cliff. But how far are the cliffs of Ithaca
from Cornell, where the raping and throat slashing
is supposed to occur? And if you don’t have a car,
are you supposed to borrow one or can you Uber a body
to a cliff and ask the driver to wait while you chuck it off?
And what if you’re afraid of heights? It’s time we address
the shocking lack of detail in antisemitism. It’s one thing
to hate Jews but another to ask me to hate Jews
without telling me how to hate Jews or why I should hate anyone
when loving everyone is an option.…
I also especially like this poem of Hicok’s, for the final two lines:
…since Jews really are relentless
when it comes to being human.
(And, of course, I love this one, as a fellow Son of Michigan.)