First to go were the [vulnerable] with little voice
and no [entitlement] to fairness. Next up
[diversity] was whited out in one clean stroke
along with [evidenced-based] as in "provable",
or "true". Words that made people feel uncomfortable
like [fetus] or threatened the powerful
like [science-based] had to be deleted. Without words
you can even make a people disappear
so on a plain gray desk, a blunt red pen crossed out
[transgender] and they were gone.
Honerable Mention: 2018 Moving Words Poetry Competition
First Published in Lummox 7
*The forbidden words are "vulnerable," "entitlement," "diversity," "transgender," "fetus," "evidence-based" and "science-based." See Washington Post, December 15, 2017, CDC Gets List of Forbidden Words.