Diarmuid Fitzgerald
Campaign
I am standing in the supermarket, handing out leaflets. A man approaches. His tongue slips in and out as if testing the air. He frowns, his eyes narrow and he begins to shout at me. As I am trying to make a point, he interrupts, accuses me of undermining marriage. “You already have the right to marry a woman if you want to,” he yells then slithers off.
the rainbow flag
drops suddenly
windless day
When I tell my canvassing colleagues, they murmur with mild disapproval and say that’s just how some people are. I walk home with the man’s venom coursing through my mind. Am I the freak he sees me as? Maybe we don’t deserve to be equal. This whole canvas feels like a charade. Are people just being nice on the doorstep?
news of a landslide
ruined houses
filled with mud
About the Author
Diarmuid Fitzgerald has two collections of haiku published by Alba Publishing, Thames Way in 2015 and A Thousand Sparks in 2018. Haiku, tanka, and haibun have appeared in Blithe Spirit, Presence, Modern Haiku, Frogpond, Shamrock, Failed Haiku, and many more journals. A collection of poetry, The Singing Hollow, was published in 2021. See www.deewriter.com for writings and information and follow on Instagram, @deewriters.