Protect Your Peace

by Vicki Iorio


My bike instructor says protect your peace
My head and legs are spinning
I have stopped watching the news
But the news stalks me
My daughter is afraid of getting pregnant
Her fears are grounded in the new Law of the Land
She is stunned by her lack of options
Protect your peace, my instructor whispers
Make it a moving meditation
At the climax of the ride
He shakes out his man-bun
I want to hide in his mane
Breathe in through the nose
Out through the mouth
I will protect my peace by re-building the Underground Railroad
Travel to foreign places—Texas, Louisiana, the American Midwest
 Breathe in through the nose
 Out through the mouth
 Transport women to safe places
 Places where woman can make their own decisions
 

  Inhale

  Exhale


* * * * *

Vicki Iorio is the author of the poetry collections Poems from the Dirty Couch (Local Gems Press), Not Sorry (Alien Buddha Press), and the chapbooks Send Me a Letter (dancinggirlpress) and Something Fishy (Finishing Line Press). Her poetry has appeared in numerous print and on-line journals including The Painted Bride Quarterly, Rattle, poets respond online, The Fem Lit Magazine, and The American Journal of Poetry. Vicki is currently living in Florida, but her heart is in New York.