the disappeared
by Mary Silwance
term to describe
people erased
for existing
against the grain—
the disappeared
gone
not like the rapture
not from natural causes
diseases accidents age
but deleted
the disappeared
aborted
long after birth
tossed into
the garbage bin
behind history books
the disappeared
expunged—
blue contacts over brown seeing
flat iron over kinky locks
jeans galabeya
Irish Spring over cumin and garlic
the letters of your name
syllables of you
forever on papers
rearranged to match
a stranger in a strange land’s ear
“The poems “spoils” and “the disappeared” are part of a continuous dialogue both internal and external regarding marginalization. Who and what gets foregrounded and who and what gets tossed aside in public and private spheres. Specifically, the very personal poem, the disappeared, is an exploration of the process an immigrant takes on in order to assimilate. Spoils is an indictment of the war machine that turns a blind eye to the most common and intimate war theater, female bodies. And yet the victims and survivors are perennially disappeared from any accounting of war.” —Mary Silwance
Originally from Egypt, Mary Silwance lives in Kansas City and is the mother of three daughters. Mary has been an English teacher, environmental educator, worked in green infrastructure and is an herbalism apprentice. Mary serves on the editorial team of Kansas City Voices and provides workshops on writing. While her poetry and essays appear in numerous publications, Mary explores ecology from an intersection of justice, spirituality, and embodiment in workshops and at https://www.marysilwance.com. Mary is a recent attendee of the Bread Loaf Environmental Writers Conference.