Say Her Name, Part I, a Poem by Susan Wenzel

They say they can’t say her name because
  they can’t prove if she was murdered on tribal land or not.
 
  They say they can’t say her name because
  they aren’t sure whose jurisdiction has the responsibility to search.
 
  They say they can’t say her name because
  they don’t know how long or even if she is really gone.
 
  They say they can’t say her name because
  they didn’t listen when she reported the abuse…or couldn’t.
 
  They say they can’t say her name because
  she has been designated and marked as “habitual runaway,” “status unknown,” “racial misclassification,” “prostitute,” “alcoholic,” or “addict.”
 
  They say they can’t say her name because
  they shift accountability and point their fingers at each other, from one side to the other, across the gulch, while she slips through and is lost in the void.
 
  They say they can’t say her name.

  But I will…
 

Career Navy veteran, mother, and wife, Susan Wenzel’s diverse writing career spans more than three decades. She’s worked as a military technical writer, nonprofit environmental writer, and food/wine writer who published 30+ articles for nonprofit Whidbey Life Magazine. She currently writes for a woman-owned small business on Whidbey Island where she lives. In an effort to improve the quality of her work, she completed a Professional & Continuing Education Certificate in Editing, University of Washington in 2012 and is currently enrolled in a Professional and Creative Writing MA at Central Washington University with an anticipated graduation date of Spring, 2023.