Emma Goldman-Sherman
after Sexton’s “Welcome Morning”
“…so I asked Him, ‘Why do I exist?’ not expecting
an answer, not liking what He said.”
“But it set you apart,” said Anne, passing
the sugar. Rebecca smiled and took two.
“He’ll never know what it is to carry a child
not to mention twins. To be asked to give birth
to argument? To welcome conflict? Why
didn’t I let it all die within me? Twist the hanger
of history’s thin membrane between safety and infection—“
Anne’s eyebrow raised. Rebecca asked,
“Is it better to be stuck with them, the constant rage?”
Anne offered danish. Rebecca ate. Emma Goldman-Sherman
“You,” said Rebecca, “write God’s true mouth.”
Anne laughed, “With my fingers painted a blood-brick manicure!”
Rebecca licked her lips wanting to suck Anne’s fingertips
but Anne brushed her away with the crumbs to the floor
blew out the pilot light for something sure. Emma Goldman-Sherman
Aren’t we all waiting for the holy
birds outside the kitchen window to break
into our homes, remake our narrow nests?
Emma Goldman-Sherman
Listen to Emma Goldman-Sherman’s Abraham’s Daughters at The Parsnip Ship
Abraham’s Daughters is a mythic play about colonialism and identity. A finalist for the Henley Rose Award, Risk is This at Cutting Ball, and Waterworks, it is available for a world premiere.
Synopsis: Although Abraham is a Jew from Flushing, and he only has one daughter, Maxine, and her only daughter Racie is a lesbian, Abraham still believes he’ll be the Father of Nations. He moves to Tel Aviv in search of his first love, Haajar. When he discovers Haajar’s daughter has five Palestinian Muslim sons, he goes to Nablus in the midst of the first Intifada to claim them as his own.
Emma Goldman-Sherman's plays have been produced on 4 continents and include Abraham's Daughters which is available as a podcast at TheParsnipShip.com. Their poetry has been published or is forthcoming in Toyon (w/Arabic translation), Exist Otherwise, The Mersey Review, Gigantic Sequins, Writers Resist and others. Their award-winning microfiction is anthologized in Best Microfiction 2025 and the Fish Anthology of 2023. They work as a neuro-affirming coach and teach for the Dramatists Guild Institute and PlayPenn. Emma supports writers and artists at bravespace.online. They write about post-traumatic growth at goldmansherman.substack.com.
