I created 'Poetic Justice' in the midst of the health care debate. It just struck me that our focus and values are often profoundly skewed by what we think it important. All that clutter and need to be 'right' often drowns out the simplest truth..we all need each other and our eternally connected as such.

Michelle 'mikki' Williams is the founder of Vocal INKorporated ~ An organization dedicated to nurturing and developing what she calls 'vocality' ~ the voice of freedom & expression within us all. Mikki is a poet, spoken word artist, event host and facilitator. She runs several live poetry/spoken word events weekly in and around the Toledo area, including Simply Poetry at Brooklyn's Daily Grind and TOLEDO FLOWS ~ The areas first and only fully interactive worldwide/internet open mic.

justice is love
in motion
a defiant
unapologetic
devotion
to each other

an unshakeable belief
that every heart beat
is the sound of
our brother

sister
mother
daughter
lover

hell yes

Mother Teresa knew it

we belong to one another

so why is it

we keep actin’ like we’ve never met?

What can I possibly
say here
to make sure
you..we.. remember
to never forget
the trees

some of our forefather’s hung from

that’s right
I said it

hung from

cuz the founders and builders of this nation
weren’t just the ones who
put it on paper

many were the few
the ones who knew

their sacrifice
their lives
were truly for the greater

good.

that has yet
to be
realized
fully
actualized

idealized

this pretty little notion
that
all are free to dance
in the land laden with opportunity

careful..
or you just might choke
on your own syllables

those fundamental principles
to which we pledge
our allegiance

have yet to be
revealed

on any kind of level
playing field

we yield

to the rhetoric
instead

much too disruptive
to mind
those petulant voices


you know the ones
that keep trying to warn us
about the roof
as it’s cavin’ in
on our head

mislead

our own thoughts
betray us..

do you know?
how far you would
really go
to alleviate
the agony of empty
from your babies
eyes?

how much you would
despise

yourself

for the inability
to transcend

all those damned dead ends?

how many of those
suburban sprawl
tables
and
mega-church altars
do you think
the man from Nazareth
would be overturning today?

what would he say?

about all this

opulent vulgarity

grotesque

the disparity

between the have’s
and the ‘all I gots’

the have never’s

have you ever?..


scrounged for pennies in the cushions
of your couch
so you could buy a package of bologna
(forget the bread)
and a quart of milk for your kids?

god forbid..

the little brown man in the loin cloth was right
poverty is the worst form of violence

because it breeds
feeds
the rest..

apathy
indifference
ignorance
contempt

who wouldn’t feel
like the whole
world
hates ya

as your trudgin’ through
the forgotten
in Appalachia

while some centerfold
from Massachusetts
becomes just another
one of those good ole boys

yeah, we’re all just
background noise

until we refuse
to be

okay
with the reality
that the ones who are
deciding
which health plan
we deserve

have already self-served

full-coverage for themselves

while the single mother
works two jobs
in hopes of meeting
even half of that deductible

and the Vietnam vet
shudders in the cold

cuz he’s too old
to fight for himself

sometimes
people simply
do need help

not your pity

just your humanity

Powter said it best..

Let’s
stop this insanity

and care

        just care

that


more is never enough
and
greed is self-sustaining

but it’s time
we stop complaining
and simply
demand

take that stand

extend your hand
beyond
the comfort of your reach

breech

every boundary
that seeks to dis-unify

deny

that tried and untrue
American rule..

that mindless drool

which says
After me you come first

what if you did
seek to quench
another’s thirst
before your own

can you comprehend the implications
the possibilities
of BEing

an instrument of change

a weapon of mass construction

an eternal induction

of peace

please..

let’s finally
truly
embrace
those essentials upon which this country was found

don’t go to sleep now

wake up