They Did Not Read Books They did not read books when they could, waiting instead to miss them only when they and the lessons they held were taken away without any warning except for the ones within. Had they opened the books that looked too dangerous for their children, they would have seen the signs, but, alas, they did not read books. When all they can say is, “Yes, sir,” they wonder how they could have stopped this from happening to them and their daughters, but they cannot know because the books are long gone and they did not read books. Power What if when they told us what to do with their megaphones and work phones, assistants they still call secretaries, and watches and shoes we are told to never outshine—as if their worth, or ours, fits around a wrist or two feet—we said, No. What if we all said, No, at the same time from our cubicles and out-of-sight sites with our coworkers we call friends, and watched as they heard a word they hear often enough but never from someone they see as beneath them, even though those beneath them hold all the power: the power to say, No, and stop the world. Their biggest fear is not foreign or domestic terrorism, abortions, gun rights or control, religious rights or zealots, the unhoused, drug users or pushers, different races, drag queens, gay marriages, or what we are teaching our children; it is disruption. What they fear is not a disruption of life. No, no, no, they do not fret over such simple matters as life and death, not with capital on the line. They cannot be bothered resting on their stacks of dollar bills, but if we stop the world, every day brings them closer down to our level where we can reach them with a not-so-friendly, not-so-gentle reminder the man at the top is only as strong as those who hold him up because the very second they let go, he will come crashing down. After the crash, while those at the top lie shattered at the bottom, they’ll be happy to meet any demands asked of them. It’s the only way they can get back up.
About the author:
Deron Eckert is a writer and poet who lives in Lexington, Kentucky. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Rattle, Door is a Jar, Ghost City Review, Maudlin House, The Fourth River, Flash Fiction Magazine, and elsewhere. He was a flash fiction finalist in New Millennium Writing’s 54th Writing Awards. He is currently seeking publication for his Southern Gothic, coming-of-age novel and his first collection of poetry. He can be found on Instagram @deroneckert and Twitter @DeronEckert.
Isele Magazine 