To buy: Eggs, milk, bananas, justice. On my salary?

Eyes on the ball, eyes on the prize, all eyes on me.... I should know to keep my eyes down.

Once when I could separate “us” and “them,” I watched women in burqas on TV and felt pity. Poor women. Poor, defeated women. I did not guess their rage.

deflect the gaze 
arrange the face 
flat smile 

always, it’s the quiet ones 

they don’t see us 
will not see us coming 

—Long-Listed Finalist in MacQ’s Cheribun Challenge #2

Erin Tuthill

is a member of Poetry in the City of Trees in Boise, Idaho.