Some Like It Hot
ACCESSORIES
63 days...
the vans have all gone
but the streets are still here
they cry out for justice.
Though faded from sight
forgotten from mind
we have not fallen quiet...
We see you.
Moms and Dads
and Grannies and Vets
in a row, in a line, in a wall
of love and strength
and righteous wrath
we stand...
of this ends here and now -
of take no more - we stand
of not on my watch
We see you.
Their masks their shields
their feet our steeds
our pen their sword
their images
our eagle eyes...
We see you.
1 if by land, 2 if by sea
3 if by unmarked van
We see you.
Attacks on the people
don’t keep the peace
Assaulting the public
won’t make it secure
Crimes of war on
domestic shores...
WE are not the enemy.
We see you.
Where are the pitchforks
of rage?
Where are the minute men?
Where’s the armed militia
- the wardens of minutiae -
to rise up
against
the man
to protect
the oppressed
to defend the detained
to check
the overreach
of despotic
tyrannic control
We see you.
Silence is violence
ignorance complacency
complacency complicit
bleach and bullets and *8_77$#!&*
diamond and silk and denial
demon seed and a reptile dysfunction
viral cult misinformation
intentional mass misdirection
commotion, confusion, conspiracy
alternative facts
may be painful
...but stupid kills.
We see you.
LIES!!!
Lies. Lies. Lies.
Lies. LIES. Lies. L I E S.
WE SEE YOU!
LIFE is essential
You are not expendable.
You’re not a hero -
a hostage...
of economic impossibility
broken down trade
and busted up industry
a fiscal instability -
the inconvenience of
a system that doesn’t
care about you
or anyone
who isn’t green
and dead.
We see you.
Labor for sale
Death for profit
The biggest boom
to the top
since the war
...well, this one
or that one
or the one before.
We see you.
When did truth
give way to opinion?
Why was science
demoted to optional??
How is dying now
somehow political??!
What made compassion
and decency, rational thought
get thrown out like
stained dirty genes?
When did killing off
the weak
become the social norm?
And who gets to decide
who’s the weakest?
Who do we sacrifice next?
Who should be
volunteered
as tribute to
the esteemed
elite?
Have we always
been so numb?
...or just since
we got so dumb?
When do we mourn
1 in 20 snuffed out?
When do stop
destroying
ourselves?
Whether we get to eat
or keep a roof on our heads...
a hotly contested debate -
if the jobless deserve
a fighting chance
Consider the loss on
investment - decades of
efforts negated
in collectively keeping
our lessers down...
gotta make sure
he knows his place
We see you.
Crawling from out
of a bottle
holding your sign
on the corner
there but for grace...
We see you.
Departed, deported,
deflated, depraved
We see you.
Irreparable, deplorable,
discreditable, debunked
We see you.
Families divided
Children in custody
Kids in cages
Camping with great
concentration...
No really - they love
the gardening!
We see you.
Fear
is our national
currency
Hate
our national
debt
Our legacy
to have loved
and lost.
The heart of our soul
is up for grabs -
on the block to
the highest bidder...
sold for a bill of goods
convincing the jingoist
he’s a patriot.
We see you.
How did we come to be
so overrun
by such impudent
imprudent
zealots and freaks?
What’s in it for
cronies
and cohorts and fans
patrons and backers
bootlicking the clan?
We see you.
Forward progress
Civil rights
The Rule of Law
The Constitution
our duty to
the natural order...
mere casualties
of commerce -
the cost of doing business
with greased palm
handshakes
in back room deals
restrictions, protections
to safeguard the people
just get in the way
of the almighty dividend
We see you.
Polar bears, pandas
and bees - oh my -
ice caps, clean water
the dying breaths
of the rainforests...
1000 year storms
- a smattering
every season -
our whole way of life...
We Stand on this Rock
with our Flints at the ready
to pass on a livable world
to our young.
We see you.
Integrity succumbed
to the power of the gun -
our babies sent home
in body bags
our grieving minds
made up for us -
the powers that be
decreed:
nothing to see here
don’t get all uptight...
go quietly back
to your lives.
We see you.
A saver of people
and pets and things
cast away and tossed aside
I love it because it’s trash!
...but maybe the cost
to foster the people
has finally gotten too high
The trailer park
of the planet
a public beyond
redemption
soon to be
forgotten.
What can I do?
What can I say?
So busy with... stuff...
too much on my plate
I’ve nothing to add
that can make
any difference.
Surely my voice
doesn’t matter.
We see you.
There are kids to raise
and bills to pay
mouths to feed
and hell toupee.
We see you.
We’re keeping our credit
in check because
some part of the world
still cares
what color
the kitchen is.
I never have enough
time to myself
and the walls are
closing in...
I’m so... tired.
So very very tired.
I’m losing...
my mind
myself
this game
losing it
I can’t hold it back
anymore
...can’t hold it in.
I can’t keep it out.
I can’t keep it up.
I can’t make this
easy...
or pretty
...it isn’t.
I can’t sleep at night
...can’t even think
straight
I can’t even...
I just...
can’t.
The world is getting hotter...
the water is boiling
our salted legs
begin to twitch
>>--*CRICKETS*--<<
sing
THIS IS FINE.
...I
can’t...
breathe.
LJ Idol | Season 11 • Week 28 - Topic: SAWUBONA
This post has been brought to you by an association with the online writing community forum, LJ Idol.
If you have enjoyed this entry, please feel free to speak your piece, share the love, and pass it on…
...and thanks for stopping by.
63 days...
the vans have all gone
but the streets are still here
they cry out for justice.
Though faded from sight
forgotten from mind
we have not fallen quiet...
We see you.
Moms and Dads
and Grannies and Vets
in a row, in a line, in a wall
of love and strength
and righteous wrath
we stand...
of this ends here and now -
of take no more - we stand
of not on my watch
We see you.
Their masks their shields
their feet our steeds
our pen their sword
their images
our eagle eyes...
We see you.
1 if by land, 2 if by sea
3 if by unmarked van
We see you.
Attacks on the people
don’t keep the peace
Assaulting the public
won’t make it secure
Crimes of war on
domestic shores...
WE are not the enemy.
We see you.
Where are the pitchforks
of rage?
Where are the minute men?
Where’s the armed militia
- the wardens of minutiae -
to rise up
against
the man
to protect
the oppressed
to defend the detained
to check
the overreach
of despotic
tyrannic control
We see you.
Silence is violence
ignorance complacency
complacency complicit
bleach and bullets and *8_77$#!&*
diamond and silk and denial
demon seed and a reptile dysfunction
viral cult misinformation
intentional mass misdirection
commotion, confusion, conspiracy
alternative facts
may be painful
...but stupid kills.
We see you.
LIES!!!
Lies. Lies. Lies.
Lies. LIES. Lies. L I E S.
WE SEE YOU!
LIFE is essential
You are not expendable.
You’re not a hero -
a hostage...
of economic impossibility
broken down trade
and busted up industry
a fiscal instability -
the inconvenience of
a system that doesn’t
care about you
or anyone
who isn’t green
and dead.
We see you.
Labor for sale
Death for profit
The biggest boom
to the top
since the war
...well, this one
or that one
or the one before.
We see you.
When did truth
give way to opinion?
Why was science
demoted to optional??
How is dying now
somehow political??!
What made compassion
and decency, rational thought
get thrown out like
stained dirty genes?
When did killing off
the weak
become the social norm?
And who gets to decide
who’s the weakest?
Who do we sacrifice next?
Who should be
volunteered
as tribute to
the esteemed
elite?
Have we always
been so numb?
...or just since
we got so dumb?
When do we mourn
1 in 20 snuffed out?
When do stop
destroying
ourselves?
Whether we get to eat
or keep a roof on our heads...
a hotly contested debate -
if the jobless deserve
a fighting chance
Consider the loss on
investment - decades of
efforts negated
in collectively keeping
our lessers down...
gotta make sure
he knows his place
We see you.
Crawling from out
of a bottle
holding your sign
on the corner
there but for grace...
We see you.
Departed, deported,
deflated, depraved
We see you.
Irreparable, deplorable,
discreditable, debunked
We see you.
Families divided
Children in custody
Kids in cages
Camping with great
concentration...
No really - they love
the gardening!
We see you.
Fear
is our national
currency
Hate
our national
debt
Our legacy
to have loved
and lost.
The heart of our soul
is up for grabs -
on the block to
the highest bidder...
sold for a bill of goods
convincing the jingoist
he’s a patriot.
We see you.
How did we come to be
so overrun
by such impudent
imprudent
zealots and freaks?
What’s in it for
cronies
and cohorts and fans
patrons and backers
bootlicking the clan?
We see you.
Forward progress
Civil rights
The Rule of Law
The Constitution
our duty to
the natural order...
mere casualties
of commerce -
the cost of doing business
with greased palm
handshakes
in back room deals
restrictions, protections
to safeguard the people
just get in the way
of the almighty dividend
We see you.
Polar bears, pandas
and bees - oh my -
ice caps, clean water
the dying breaths
of the rainforests...
1000 year storms
- a smattering
every season -
our whole way of life...
We Stand on this Rock
with our Flints at the ready
to pass on a livable world
to our young.
We see you.
Integrity succumbed
to the power of the gun -
our babies sent home
in body bags
our grieving minds
made up for us -
the powers that be
decreed:
nothing to see here
don’t get all uptight...
go quietly back
to your lives.
We see you.
A saver of people
and pets and things
cast away and tossed aside
I love it because it’s trash!
...but maybe the cost
to foster the people
has finally gotten too high
The trailer park
of the planet
a public beyond
redemption
soon to be
forgotten.
What can I do?
What can I say?
So busy with... stuff...
too much on my plate
I’ve nothing to add
that can make
any difference.
Surely my voice
doesn’t matter.
We see you.
There are kids to raise
and bills to pay
mouths to feed
and hell toupee.
We see you.
We’re keeping our credit
in check because
some part of the world
still cares
what color
the kitchen is.
I never have enough
time to myself
and the walls are
closing in...
I’m so... tired.
So very very tired.
I’m losing...
my mind
myself
this game
losing it
I can’t hold it back
anymore
...can’t hold it in.
I can’t keep it out.
I can’t keep it up.
I can’t make this
easy...
or pretty
...it isn’t.
I can’t sleep at night
...can’t even think
straight
I can’t even...
I just...
can’t.
The world is getting hotter...
the water is boiling
our salted legs
begin to twitch
>>--*CRICKETS*--<<
sing
THIS IS FINE.
...I
can’t...
breathe.
LJ Idol | Season 11 • Week 28 - Topic: SAWUBONA
This post has been brought to you by an association with the online writing community forum, LJ Idol.
If you have enjoyed this entry, please feel free to speak your piece, share the love, and pass it on…
...and thanks for stopping by.