Shutdown

by Diane Vogel Ferri / April 12th, 2026

I am trying to love this place,
this country, the way I used to,

but it is dark as creosote, useless
as a plastic bag stuck in a tree,

and everything I don’t need.
I am waiting for it to wake up,

to recall one cloudless September day
when we knew each other so well.

Now the cherry trees are dead
and the people’s house is rubble,

we are in an endless game of dodgeball,
trying to sidestep every atrocity

before it hits us in the face, full-
force, leaving a bruise of despair.

Diane Vogel Ferri’s recent novel is No Life But This: A Novel of Emily Warren Roebling. Her latest full-length poetry book is A Slow Journey to Totality. Her essays have been published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Scene Magazine, and Braided Way Journal, among many others. Read other articles by Diane.

This article was posted on Sunday, April 12th, 2026 at 8:00am and is filed under Poetry.