Proud American Christian flags
Stars and Stripes and bayonets
Jesus Saves
Not this woman, though, on Nollaig na mBan.
Run up these steps break a window climb in
terrorise the people
in the people’s house
confirming
that they realise
that we know
they cheated.
This is the way we deal with cheaters
We believe in God
We believe in the knave who ranks above the others
We don’t believe in the fake pandemic
or fake election results
or fake democracy.
We don’t have to
because God is on our side
to take back our great country
our white Christian country
We know what to expect
It’s happened before
When they tried to show
That black lives matter.
They didn’t.
“These are things that happen”
Too chirpy, at last.
Fuelled by lies
Whose lies?
And we, so busy,
watching ourselves
isolating
minding ourselves
staying home
staying safe
staying well
While a narcissistic psychopath
Persuades his flock
To drink the cool aid.
On Nollaig na mBán
2021.
© Madge O’Callaghan, 2021
The twelfth and final day of Christmas, January 6th, was known in Ireland as Nollaig na mBan (pronounced Null-ig na Mon) or Women’s Christmas or Little Christmas. As a reward for their hard work over the Christmas season, it was a day off from all house work for women and traditional roles were supposed to be reversed in the home: men did the women’s work in the house while women rested and gathered together informally.