Reform Legislation

In the corner of the weedy lot,
one brick and a restless crowd.
Something needs to happen.
A wall needs to be built
for a new house or a fortress.
If this brick were a harmonica
perhaps a song could be written.
But it has no holes or reeds.
No music in this brick
without a hollow log to bang it on.
No mortar or even mud here
to bind it to another brick
which is also not present.

A few members of the crowd note
that one could sit for hours making lists
of things needed for something to happen
if one only had pencil and paper
to record them on. 

While this is happening,
windows in towers on all sides of the lot
fill with onlookers wondering
when someone in the crowd
will realize the brick
can be used a missile.

Should we do something,
they murmur among themselves? 

We should.  We should hide
the sand and mortar and the wood
one could use for making doors
or battering rams for knocking down
existing doors.   Someone down there
is going to figure it out soon enough
if we don’t take action. 

Let us do that, then.
We can talk about how to hide it all
before we begin.  There are differences of opinion
but we all know what must be done,
so let’s agree on this:
that no matter how we disagree,
we can’t let anyone
in the mob outside hear.