A Demonstration
Out of three-word slogans, hopes and applause,
out of the rapture of a righteous cause,
what started as a passionate parade
has blossomed into restlessness, has grown
so charged that from behind a barricade
the State is threatening her little ones
Disperse! Disperse! Or. . . . Rhythmic fists and chants
rise up like middle fingers. Rocks are thrown.
(The goddamn “them” are waging war on us.)
Canisters choke and blind; a flashbang stuns.
Taser electrodes bite en masse and mass
chaos convulses like a modern dance.
(The goddamn “them” are waging war on us.)
Crushed glass,
a burning bus,
a trashed shrill sign.
Such is the rage we each feel every day
to rupture barriers, to hold the line,
to make the stubborn heed the words we say.
Links:
[1] https://www.ablemuse.com/digital-books-25/v25/digital edition/Complete Digital Version of -/Able Muse, Print Edition (Number 25), Summer 2018