When that situation presented itself,
there were things I wanted to say
that would have revealed me to be one 
who was being the change
he wanted to see in the world.  

There were some damn powerful syllables
and the breaths between them had good clout
as well.  There was phrasing
that would have stopped a tank; if a tank
had popped up right then, we would have been fine.

I carry these words around all the time;
in fact, I may be a walking, talking armory.
It’s an excellent game to play. I talk it
well:  passing the ammunition, firing off
a salvo, taking rhetorical aim.

Speak the change you want to see in the world.
I know the original phrasing is a little different.
I’m sure this is what was meant, though.
This version surely covers those
with voices as strong as mine.  

Of course, sometimes I do not speak.
You can’t claim every battle as your own,
of course. These battles, for instance, 
where more than breath is on the immediate line?
I save mine.  I sit, I listen, I save mine

for those moments when no one else is talking
because they’re all too busy working, or everyone 
is talking because they’re busy working together.
If talk is dear, I fight carefully and pull back 
quickly.  If talk is cheap, I spend freely.  

The important thing: you know
when I’m talking.  When I’m talking
I’m saving the world. When I’m talking
I’m sweeping the world clean.  When I’m talking,
you should stop working and hear me.