Dr. Blasey Ford Explained by Candice M. Kelsey (Ohio)

​Dr. Blasey Ford Explained,
           “Indelible in the Hippocampus is the Laughter,” and I Still Can’t Forget It

Ishmael
was cast out
​
in a wood, beyond
the reach
of God’s voice,
trembling.

​A rustling.
And God’s robe fell
silent. Cowards
always are.

But the cool air
was witness.
Ishmael’s new robe,
Hagar’s hair:

tangled and bitter
like the mouth
of a girl
muzzled by hands.

Always
a holding down.
The simple truth,
the swoop

of a golden eagle.
The goat caught,
tossed
off crags into

a bottomless gorge
of accusation,
denial.
Confirmation

the powerful remain
on top, laugh.





CANDICE M. KELSEY [she/her] is a poet, educator, activist, and essayist from Ohio and living bicoastally in L.A. and Georgia. Her work appears in Passengers Journal, Variant Literature, and The Laurel Review among others. A finalist for a Best Microfiction 2023, she is the author of six books. Candice also serves as a poetry reader for The Los Angeles Review. Find her @candice-kelsey-7 @candicekelsey1 and www.candicemkelseypoet.com.