She was the queen of Brooklyn
although she wore no gold crown
except in the public’s imagination
and on t-shirts. Instead
her apparel of choice was
a white frilly lace collar
that framed her black judicial robe.
Her dissenting collar
she called it
and she wore it with pride
like an ancient warrior
a modern-day Boudica
prepping for war.
She dissented in the name of justice in the name of fairness in the name of equality for you, for me, for everyone.