An Ally Gets Real

A Jewish friend asked
if I’d hide her family in our attic.

A Muslim friend asked
me to call him Chris instead of Mo.

A black friend asked
to borrow my shovel for an updated underground railroad.

A gay friend asked
if she could hug my brother while the authorities watch.

I tell my friends no.
No.

Instead, I’ll officiate a gay wedding
at a mosque while chanting the Torah
and reciting Langston Hughes.

Hate will have to assault
my Ancestry-DNA-verified whiteness
to get to my friends.

Hate will end up knocked on its ass,
sniffling through a bloody nose.

.

John Sheirer lives in Western Massachusetts and teaches at Asnuntuck Community College in Northern Connecticut. He writes a monthly column on current events for his hometown Daily Hampshire Gazette. Recent work in WordPeace, Five Minutes, Iceblink, Fiction on the Web, Wilderness House Literary Review, Meat for Tea, Poppy Road Review, Synkroniciti, 10 By 10 Flash Fiction, Scribes*MICRO*Fiction, and Goldenrod Review, among others. His most recent books are Stumbling Through Adulthood: Linked Stories (2021 New England Book Festival Award Winner) and For Now: One Hundred 100-Word Stories (2023 New England Book Festival Award Runner-Up). Find him at JohnSheirer.com.