i.
“Let’s not talk about
politics.”
“You’re going to let
politics
ruin a friendship?”
“Two things you never discuss at dinner;
politics
and religion.”
“Ignorance is bliss,
politics
just makes people depressed.”
“Life’s too short for
politics.”
ii.
Sew buttons on your own eyes,
leave mine open.
Give me that remote and unmute
that, I need to hear
what’s going on.
If we don’t talk about it,
how will we know
who thinks
we deserve to live?
we deserve to love?
We deserve to live freely
without fear of boot-in-the-door raids?
of gun-to-your-head arrests?
of bullets-in-your-back-with-your-hands-up?
iii.
If we opened our mouths
and sang with our convictions,
at least we’d know where we all stood:
are you on a precipice,
or am I about to jump?
iv.
none of us wants to be
impolite
but the cheetah doesn’t ask the zebra
if it can be devoured,
which is to say
we might be animals,
but we’re trying to be better
and sometimes better
means stepping on some toes
and saying, “no,
what you’re doing is wrong.”
v.
opinions are like assholes,
but they’re also for things like
“I prefer caramel over vanilla.”
not
“I don’t think you deserve rights.”
vi.
A sea of humanity is frothing,
scared, and looking into our eyes.
As we turn our backs,
those with the keys have
unplugged the drain,
hoping we don’t notice
as that sea dries up
and dies.
but we do.
vii.
how will that crow taste
when you’re forced to chow it down
as you look upon the crowds
and announce, “I did nothing”?
Artwork by Kathryn Lamont.