Shana Ross
After the Election
While we were trying to remember how to chit chat
Cocktail conversation pinned under the rubble
I told a story that led to someone quoting
A comedian, a movie, a catchphrase, a running gag
Your consent is not required
And I said, remember last Monday, when that was still funny?
We laughed and did not cry, because we are better at being
Polite instead of honest with each other,
In the presence of nice clothes and a crowd.
We are mad, but we are also mad
To think our manners mean we are preserving some essential American self.
Shana Ross is a poet and playwright with a BA and MBA from Yale University. Her writing career has been dormant for 18 years for reasons both practical and best discussed in therapy. This decade, her work has been published in Anapest Journal.
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