she was certain it would save
so many lives
not an inoculation against hate
but the next best thing
it had few side effects
(most commonly, chagrin
at one’s previous ignorance)
the FDA approved the pill
but no one wanted to take it
except those who didn’t need it
the Empathy Pill is nothing
but mind control! people raved
snuggling their hatred like a blanket
and so Ruth once again called to mind
her bubbe whose mother
and brothers died in the camps
then she went back to her lab
and recited the formula for the Empathy Pill
like a lullaby, like a curse, like a spell
invocation of her dream to mend the world
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Gwynne Garfinkle is the author of a novel, Can’t Find My Way Home (2022), and a collection of short fiction and poetry, People Change (2018), both published by Aqueduct Press. Her work has appeared in such publications as Fantasy, Escape Pod, Strange Horizons, Uncanny, Apex, Climbing Lightly Through Forests, and Other Covenants. |