Jason Bredle

Like The Dragonfly

Like the dragonfly

who mistakes a helicopter

for its mother

the river curves

into another

with little satiety

& the secret society

of chosen ones

who lack empathy

for those of us stimming

along the bank

are nothing

but undeserving

of sympathy—

orchids scattered

amongst the pavilion’s

decorative fountains

will forever remain

out of touch

for people like us,

shamed into ourselves

by schoolteachers

so disturbed

by their own fictions

about mental illness

they file civil cases

against us as if court

is a church & they deliver

the benedictions

‍

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