Enough, “Revolutionary”

They say there’s a revolution coming
and they say it’ll be bloodless and unseen
but it will happen as if the change that’s needed
will require nothing more than words spewed
in place of bullets and the swathe of knives
or a sudden hurricane change in the stenchwind
that roils over the land

I say there’s not a thing you can do
to make it happen with a word or a gesture
that won’t at some point also require a cutting
or a hole punched at high speed in a wall
or a chest

They say there’s a revolution coming
and they say it will be peaceful
but Gandhi himself couldn’t have changed
what needs to be changed
without a fire or a sudden decompression
that will leave some who have been in too deep
with the bends bubbling within

I say there’s not enough breath to spend
to change slavery to freedom
by just proclaiming it to be so
when so many want to keep it in place
and have the means to maze you into thinking
it has disappeared when it has not

They say a revolution is coming
and they tell that to the already convinced
but there’s not gonna be a revolution
if the only weapon you have is a patented speech
about who will see it and what it will be like
or a pronouncement on the lessons everyone needs to learn
when the schools are still nailing down the planks
on the same old soundproof boxes they’ve built for years

I say you have to fox the fox
and rat on the rat
I say you ought to stop listening to me
and everyone else who tells you what to do
and snake up the rafters of the house
and bite every hand empty or not
with a hiss and not a song
I say you oughta serve up a poison pill
with a vow of destitution as a side dish
and admit what you want
is not a revolution if you can’t stomach the sight
of thick blood pooling
in absolute silence
as you walk empty streets of palaces
and marvel at how the loud
and streaky scream of war
gave way to this