Rust & Moth

Things are pretty dark right now, America. There aren’t enough pages in the history of our journal to detail every horror taking place in the world, and even if there were, further broadcasting the harm is unlikely to help. Better, we think, to highlight the tactics and organizations that are lifting our spirits and keeping our hearts steady.

One way to inoculate a weary heart against the spectre of rising fascism — or any other kind of unneighborly behavior — is to listen to Mr. Fred Rogers, the soft-spoken but steely-eyed children’s television showrunner and minister. “Look for the helpers,” his mother would say to him whenever there were scary things in the news. “You will always find people who are helping.”

As individuals in dark rooms with lit up phones at late hours, there’s not much we can do. But when we support and join with the people who are already helping, we become helpers ourselves. One person the editors of Rust & Moth would like to help is Jeanette Vizguerra, an immigration and labor activist and mother of four who’s called America her home since 1997. She was threatened with deportation during the first Trump administration and successfully claimed sanctuary in Colorado churches at that time. With support from Democratic lawmakers across the state, including Michael Bennet, Jared Polis, and Joe Neguse, she was able to stay. However, with Trump’s return to power, she is being targeted again. Vizguerra was detained by ICE on March 17th and as of this writing is still in detention at a privately-operated detention center in Aurora, Colorado. We invite our readers to learn about her story and consider donating to her GoFundMe page, which was set up by her children to help pay for her legal costs. And if you find yourself getting lost in the complex legal details of her case, feel free to step back and simplify her situation down to five words, spoken by one of her children during a vigil for her release: “I want my mom back.”

 https://www.gofundme.com/f/4ekfk-help-reunite-my-family

We also encourage our American readers to sign up for Indivisible’s weekly emails, which come with calling assignments to elected officials — such coordinated calling jammed Congressional phone lines to the point of failure last month. You don’t have to talk to a staffer directly to have an impact either — calls left on machines in the middle of the night are just as impactful. (We’re looking at you, fellow introverts and night owls.) There are many people in the world, both inside America and out, who cannot risk a phone call to their government. If you can, please consider calling on behalf of those who can’t.

https://indivisible.org/

Finally, if your workplace is represented by a union, please consider joining. Organized labor and the power to strike are among the most powerful weapons this country has against tyranny. If you can’t find a local branch, you can start by contacting the AFL-CIO.

https://aflcio.org/formaunion/contact

The stakes are too high for isolated action; mere tributaries aren’t strong enough on their own. Now is the time for rivers — for mutual aid, coordinated pressure, and calls to Congress every night. We encourage everyone led to suffering by this morally bankrupt administration to join with us as we join with Jeanette Vizguerra, our local unions, and Indivisible – or with anyone already doing the good work in your name. 

– the editors, Rust & Moth

Rust & Moth’s Spring 2025 issue is now available in print! This one concerns itself with messengers; be they voices from the other side, unfamiliar eyes in the leaves, winged familiars, or the seeds we use to pay them for their troubles.

With new poetry from Lisa Marie Oliver, Gail Griffin, Elizabeth Kuelbs, Reyzl Grace, Rachel Neve-Midbar, Katie Massa Kennedy, Ziqr Peehu, Jordan Adams, Allison Mei-Li, William Aarnes, Hannah M. Matzecki, Nicole Desjardins Gowdy, Blair Benjamin, Erin Murphy, Lee Collins, David Rosenthal, Matt Cariello, Rupert Fike, Seth Copeland, Julian Koslow, Melanie Perish, Kale Hensley, Megan Eralie-Henriques, Carolyn Guinzio, Franziska Roesner, Jill Michelle, Ken Craft, Susannah Sheffer, and Dagne Forrest.

Find these and other poems on Bluesky!