I watch my country

watch its own descent into fascism

as it shrugs.

I have had to step away from social media.

All the speculation

about whether to go

or whether to stay

and whether anywhere on Earth is truly safe.

My trans friends debate

whether it’s too early to leave

and what the trigger for running should be

and if it’s already happened.

Most can’t afford to move

even to a blue state.

So they discuss

how to arm themselves

and to fight

and to prepare for the worst.

Suicide before genocide.

I stopped watching horror movies

when I began living them.

I can no longer stomach the lie of survival.

They gave Sidney Prescott a happy ending.

Then they snatched it away

from her

to make more movies/money.

Who wants to be a final girl anyway?

The last one standing

after all your loved ones are dead?

Life shouldn’t be a consolation prize.

People fled tyranny and oppression

in other countries

to come to America,

a place of hope and opportunity.

Now we are the ones

preparing to leave our home

in search of safety and a future

If you live long enough,

you will understand history better than you ever wanted to.