I’ve stopped talking out loud
about the fate of the nation
having decided we’re stuck with it
until it breaks more of the people
who do not believe
they could ever be bent over
the knee of the nation’s
loathsome mythologies
Those are not my people
I do not know if they ever could be
Right now I know who hears me
and to whom I will listen
I know who loves me
and to whom I will return love
I know who will fight beside me
and to whom I will lend my sword
These are
my people
Beyond them already
comes the war
as it has always been
only louder
It has always been
at my door
yet somehow it seems a new time
has clicked around
a time to stop seeking
civility among the gray ranks
The time for talk
is done
