LindaAnn LoSchiavo
Golden Shovel: Self-Defense
— after Bob Kaufman
What crime did I commit? Was justice my-
Optic? Why was I slut-shamed for my past?
A patchwork quilt of evidence: how has
My safety blanket smothered me? Laws turned
Out to protect tormentors. My digits
Showed burn marks, my vagina scars. The back-
Story of his abuse got writers on
My side to right the wrongs - releasing me.
Source: "Jail Poems" by Bob Kaufman, written in San Francisco City Prison, Cell 3, 1959
Line used: "My past has turned its back on me."
Note: On September 28, 2017, Nicole "Nikki" Addimando fatally shot her abusive partner
Chris Grover in self-defense in Poughkeepsie, NY. The shooting followed years of horrific
physical abuse and sexual torture, documented by medical professionals, police, her therapist,
her midwife, and friends. In February 2020 Nikki was sentenced to 19 years to life.
Under The Domestic Violence Survivors' Justice Act, her prison term was shortened to 7.5 years.
Ultimately, Nikki, 35, was freed in January 2024 and reunited with her two children.
Bio
Native New Yorker and award-winner, LindaAnn LoSchiavo is a member of British Fantasy Society, HWA, SFPA, and The Dramatists Guild. Titles published in 2024: "Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems" [Wild Ink], "Apprenticed to the Night" [UniVerse Press], and "Felones de Se: Poems about Suicide" [Ukiyoto]. Forthcoming: "Cancer Courts My Mother" [Prolific Pulse Press, 2025]. Book Accolades earned: Elgin Award for "A Route Obscure and Lonely" and Chrysalis BREW Project's Award for Excellence for "Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems." @ghostlyverse.bsky.social