I wrote this poem out of anger. Maybe it was more like despair. I was standing in the ground floor of Rohrbach Library, watching Dr. Blasey Ford recount her most defining memory from her assault. Listening to the shaking fear and sadness that consistently clawed at her throat broke me inside and I began to weep silently in the stacks. The way she was treated was a horror show and the fact that women need to bare their pain over and over at the mercy and indifference of men in power revolts me to the very core of my being. What Christine Blasey Ford did was a sacrifice not many are ever willing to make. She had everything to lose and will most certainly lose all of it. The bravery she held as she defiantly kept her composure in front of those goblins of men is as much breathtaking as it was heartbreaking. I wrote this poem in response to that video. Whether the writing is good or bad, my admiration for what she did is an ever-burning star. I believe you, Dr. Blasey Ford. I just hope many more will as well.
“Uncontrollable Laughter” By Tyler James McMaster
The fear in your voice creates a break in me
and wears down to the fringes of my empathy.
How hard must it be to truly believe
that this woman’s resilient soul is dying?
Uncontrollable laughter.
Pause for breath
keeping comedic time upon your chest.
What humor could lead to such a slaughter?
Your unflinching eyes cause me to avert mine.
It feels like cowardice in the midst of such power.
Uncontrollable tears
at the thought of how they accused and abused your
Valor.
To put your life on the line is treason,
but a treason of necessity.
Yours is a heroism we need,
while so many sit idly by with their antiquated reason.
So, as another season passes,
and the gale of another male brushes the seats,
I impart what little bravery I may have to you.
Please remember as the floodgates part:
We hear you.
We believe you.
We love you.
And we will always stand by you. Â