“I wrote this poem amid the 2016 election. There was a stench in the air, so foul, no matter where I was (whether it was my office or the subway)—hate and prejudice. The day after the election results, I remember being so afraid to leave my studio apartment in the Bronx, mostly because it was too quiet outside, and in the South Bronx, it is never quiet. This poem started as a prayer, ‘Today, God.’ I was preparing myself to brave the corporate office I worked in as an administrator, with two supervisors who were vocal Trump supporters—aiming to arm myself with the courage to combat the fear I felt deep inside, fear that I was now living in a world where I would have to fight harder than I have ever fought before.”
—Starr Davis