i
for all the illusions
that divide us––
democracy mirrors us
as we really
are––
gullible, arrogant &
afraid.
we are the humankind
that can’t bear the thought
of much
reality––
as we dissipate into
oblivion like a falling
star.
capitalism is not a
god nor
is selfishness a
sacrament.
democracy is a fragile
production of chance & not a
natural force.
it is only as strong as
its people’s ability
to trust one
another &
to resist
greed.
we live in a time
when the truth hides
in shadows & we
do not
understand.
the rich have gated &
locked their communities
as public evictions
to nowhere
begin.
our media keep us
illusioned
& condition us with
distraction.
they control the perceptions
we experience as
reality.
our democracy is a vibrant
plutocracy with voting
machines
as memorabilia.
bad-mouthed gossip rules
our world.
ii
we are the land
of the free
that has abandoned
the people’s law––
the home of the brave
empowered by high tech
brutality
& savvy dishonesty––
the wealthiest land
in all of time
whose gross domestic
product is
poverty
for the majority.
history is a remnant
of the future
come.
we’ve forgotten where
we’re going––
& except for selected,
hypnotic, user-friendly,
high-value-production
entertainments––
we choose not to be
awakened.
we cherish no proverbs
from our fathers––
can’t even hum
an advertising jingle
we remember in
unison.
we’ve been marketed into
exile &
segmented to
death.
each dollar bill
boasts
“out of many––
one”
we are no longer
one nation out of many
but grieving individuals
severed apart &
frightened into
pieces––
divided &
conquered before we are
born.
We the People
let loneliness ring out
from every mountainside.
iii
there are
some who chant
the words
of the sermon
on the mount––
& there are
those who never
heard of the gettysburg
address.
a few have not
forgotten that
lincoln was the
president who ended
slavery & forged the
conscience of our
nation––
but most do not know––
& if they are able
to recollect
they do not
care.
maybe
we’ll all need to fall
a long way
before we’re
willing to love
one another––
but on this trifle
of a planet,
as St. Auden advised,
we either love
one another or
die.