A Poem by Jennifer Michael Hecht

by The Awl March 2, 2017

Swastikas Markered on the 1 Train

I own my own pre-existing condition,
riding under apocalyptic preconditions.

Are there any new laws against us today?
Isn’t it fun to be a Jew today?

“Apophenia,” our brains see patterns.
But there are other patterns.

Isn’t it strange to be despised again.
Historically, anything may happen.

Nothing always happens.
Just because it is happening again.

Jennifer Michael Hecht’s most recent poetry collection is Who Said (Copper Canyon Press).