I’m not going to argue the absurd, argue
That things are bad or going to get better.
We live in an age of immutable belief shaped
By memes and algorithms, shaped, that is,
By those who write the code and own the servers.

Power is what gets done in the cloakroom while
Dreamers debate on the Senate floor.
Power need not deny a “state of planetary emergency”: [1]
Power needs only to say, we can’t afford to fix it. [2]
Power fears nothing more than hope, the
“Ability to work for something because it is good,
Not just because it stands a chance to succeed.” [3]

I’m not going to look away from the trees as they vomit
Leaves like a cancer patient, not going to amputate hope
To save my life, not going to wait for the insomniac moon
To go to sleep, for the nightmares to stop, for the
Cracked-pepper sky to turn a sugary blue, for a carnival of
Broken glass to stampede my bedroom, emptying bookshelves
Like confiscated liquor during Prohibition, for an earthquake
To unmoor me, for the sun to swallow the Milky Way.

Power doesn’t want us to drink our coffee hot.
Cold coffee is bitter. We spit it out and stumble on
In drowsy despair. Look at what is brewing at home!
Swallow that scalding liquid. Scorch your throat.
There are no scales to weigh your strength.
Your veins sloshing caffeine, rush out into traffic.
Stop ten-thousand tons of steel with your bare hands.
The moment arrives like a synapse, firing urgently:
Death tastes sweetest to those who act.

–

[1] Regan, Helen. “World Is Heading toward Irreversible Climate ‘Tipping Point,’ Researchers Say.” CNN, Cable News Network, 28 Nov. 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/28/health/climate-crisis-global-tipping-point-intl-hnk/index.html.

[2] Hockett, Robert. “The Green New Deal: How We Will Pay For It Isn’t ‘A Thing’ – And Inflation Isn’t Either.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 17 Jan. 2019, https://www.forbes.com/sites/rhockett/2019/01/16/the-green-new-deal-how-we-will-pay-for-it-isnt-a-thing-and-inflation-isnt-either/.

[3] Havel Václav, and Karel Hvizdala. Disturbing the Peace: a Conversation with Karel Hvížďala. Vintage Books, 1991, pp. 181-182.

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