POLITICAL Poem: the library visit, by Erin Lorandos

ICE doesn’t only come
in the dead of winter –
but also when
the early summer
sun was meant to grace
the dappled green trees
in the parks, when children
clamor for lazy days
spent lolling on sparkling
beaches, the books
they borrowed last week
irreparable and evermore

covered in sand – the food
trucks gathering in lines,

reminding us of our

more acceptable hungers –
the afternoon stretching on
for an eternity – a million more
lives to live in pages
laying on dark shelves
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
the librarians post, you know
it’s bad, when the librarians
encourage you to resist…
tuck your tarjetas rojas next
to your library cards – and keep
both close to your heart
three branches across the city
of angels close their doors

to PROTECT
the PEOPLE
they SERVE

if they’d come today –
how sad to say, the library
was not a safe place
across the country, the world –
third spaces cry
In solidarity –

the library is for everyone…

except you

(This is in response to the three LA Public Libraries closing their doors, to keep their patrons safe, during last weekend’s ICE raids)