Confronted with the confines
of your hate-centered speech,
I choke on disbelief,
mind sputters, stalls,
conversation moves on
and all I can manage
is an impotent withdrawal.
(Submitted for Ragtag Community’s prompt: sputter, and Fandango’s: manage. Inspired by the hate rhetoric passed about on social media, often initiated by those I otherwise respect. How do you respond?)