After reading CL Bledsoe’s book, Riceland, I told him I felt a need to write this poem and to submit it. He said, do it. The gene referred to in the title of the poem is responsible for Huntington’s Disease. This is a poem of admiration for the strength exhibited by members of households where Huntington’s has taken up residence. There are no winners, even for those who have not inherited the errant gene.

Linda Blaskey is editor for the women’s online poetry journal, Quartet; has published four volumes of poetry, two of which she is co-author. She received the 2022 Master’s Fellowship in Literature (Poetry) from Delaware Division of the Arts. She grew up in the Midwest and now lives in southern Delaware.