Poetic Justice

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

let’s get some soul around