poetry Resistance

Asked to addressed the word “resistance,” New York poet Esther Cohen responds “courage,” which is not what the teacher expects, which helps define “resistance.”

Esther Cohen
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Resistance

By Esther Cohen

At meditation this morning

I don’t usually go but morning meditation

on the Big List always instructor

woman with four children pretzel body

said the word we will look at today

is Resistance.  Tell me what you think.  Room

full of people who knew one another

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regulars certain kind

of meditator mildly appealing familiar

thinnish good natured psychoanalyzed

I’m not sure why I spoke. Courage I said.

Resistance seems courageous. Easy to see what’s

wrong. Always harder to fight.   Warsaw. France. I gave

many examples. Didn’t say 45.  Teacher was puzzled but

she smiled in the way of Nice Try. Anyone else

she said.  A woman who looked like she too could

become a pretzel beautiful white hair said

I resist so much in myself.  There was the

agreement hum teacher gave her the Right Answer

nod and I wondered if I’d return I hadn’t given

an answer she wanted remembered Noah

in middle school explaining how students do best

when they tell the teacher what she wants

and I said well I hope that isn’t you.

Esther Cohen is a cultural activist who posts a daily poem at esthercohen.com