Clandestine
written by: Rebecca Herz
@Homecoming_poet
no one had to know, yet somehow people knew
random friend of her mother would approach
in the local shops wishing her mazel tov
in the most kosher places and other forbidden
spaces they’d approach her smiling.
It was almost worse to receive congratulations
because one never knew whether or not
they were genuine. It was not the worst
it was not the best living in her hometown
surrounded by her angels and demons
the familiar infrastructure. Her parents’ house
from which the news eventually spread like a plague
through the city. People knew and didn’t know
what drew her to this life in the shadows
in another time with the same people
she would have been exiled or shut down
in another time with the same people
she might have been hidden away like rapunzel
in the tower of religion cursed
for her impunity, just for loving me
- Clandestine - May 13, 2022
- Your Love - January 17, 2022
