A History Of History

Let’s assume the position,
lay hands on the hoods of our cars,
bless the steel with our fear. 
They’re coming
for us. 
Always the sound of the bees in the air. 
Always the crack of batons
and the hiss of the tear gas. 
Close your eyes
and get right back to the bright red world
full of vigilance we thought we left
on the savanna. 
Hunters are coming,
they’ve got traps and laws, we’re animals
they love to stalk. 
Lay hands on the ground
and listen for the tumbling of their wheel
from miles off. 
Why are we waiting from them
to arrive?
Lay tracks for the distance,
there be giants coming for us,
god-henchmen
as we thought we’d outrun in the past,
we’ve got to run again. 
We’ve got to be smart.
We learned how to make spears
the last time this happened. 
We learned fire
and song
and how to shout directions to each other.
Those ancients had no more smarts than we do,
they just knew a bad thing when they saw it
and believed they could defeat it. 
They created everything there is today
to get away from the crush and the curse. 
Lay your hands on something,
fashion it into defense. 
They’re coming, new hides,
new weapons, new uniforms,
still the same old saber-tooths,
the same old giant bears
who thought we were made
for their survival needs, and
we’re still the same old prey that got away,
so pick your hands
up off your cars,
turn off the deadening TV
that keeps you from hearing,
talk to the neighbors,
talk to each other,
talk to me,
talk yourselves into the battle,
they’re coming,
it’s nothing new
and nothing we haven’t defeated
a thousand times
a thousand times,
get up, fight, remember
you’re still the One
who got up
off all fours
and looked the Hunters
in the eyes
and made
the first ever Political Statement:

“No, not this time.”