Meandering
wandering thoughts scattering
skittering through my mind
distracted by the slightest sound
searching for an oasis of calm
a balm for my spirit that seems
unattainable
in these days
so filled with rambunctious talking heads
shouting at me from an idiotic box
over which I have abrogated control
it seems as though this beast has taken control
images of hate and violence
pouring into my life
filling my world with impossiblities
that cannot
must not
come to pass
scenarios that are too horrific to imagine
a dystopian image flowing
from flag-waving patriots
claiming their way is the only way
to greatness
it hurts so much to imagine such a world
where life is reduced to us versus them
so easily
where enemies line up
where some seem to want others to
wear a label
a symbol
to identify them
perhaps a crescent and a star
just like my family once wore
then it was just a star
almost like a sherrif’s star
Ich Bin Ein Jude
so many years ago
in another place
another time
these words being spoken
this anger people feel
means something
there’s a history behind these words
a history that isn’t pretty
a lesson that hasn’t been learned
when we shut out the voices screaming
when we turn off that noise-making
idiot box and allow ourselves to listen
we can hear those voices
speaking to us from the past
some are not so distant
as they cry out with their lessons
lessons that were hard-learned
never forget
