Saturday, September 26, 2020

A Hot Knife Through our Nation's Retina

Past the optic nerve and into the brain
rests the tired mind of these United States of America.

The world will see us,
in the weight of history,
in the survival of our enlightened ideas:

Non-violence. Intolerance only to intolerance.
Peace. Progress. Trial and error-correction.
The individual over the group. Reason.

A blindfolded teenager sits in the middle of protest and counter-protest.

Choosing only to experience loving-kindness.

A spark, a riot,
a choice, an action.

Our rights,
our objective knowledge,
our convictions and understanding
are built on sand—
a towering bundle of birdlike nests.

To transform that sand into glass,
melting down every bit
that doesn't reach our ever-rising bar.

The sidelines, the couch, the armchair opinion,
the silent majority, the optimists
going to work
to be a part of the ever-expanding puzzle:

to build generations of critical,
creative,
rational,
compassionate
human beings.