Each morning I draw blood
pressing a needle beneath my skin.
It no longer hurts nerves
deadened by repetition.
I watch blood drawn in the streets,
the blood of others
I shall never meet.
I have learned to bear my own pain.
The pain of others is a heavier rain
upon a parched soul
in need of hope.
My greatest fear is that one day,
as in all things,
that greater pain will fade away.
I will become numb to others’ pain.
That is the day I shall be dead
even as my heart still beats
and I still bleed.
Blood will flow in streets I no longer see.
But, I shall no longer feel a thing.
Government has become
too sickeningly sweet.
The only cure is to stop feeding off
brutality, lies and corruption,
hoping for gain that is never enough.
A nation feeding off its own
cannot survive.
annarino writes 
DECONSTRUCTION
The streets were lined for blocks on end.
Signs reminded all who rejoiced to attend
Why they walked and talked and smiled and waved
At passing cars who braved delays
While drivers honked horns and shouted out
“Vote him out and make it a rout!”
Costumed critters danced to our delight
Knowing their freedom would give him a fright.
Deconstruct the lies we have been told.
Deconstruct the narrative being sold.
Deconstruct the bullie’s hold.
Deconstruct institutional mold.
Gather in peace the young and the old.
Stronger are you, more wise, more bold.
Deconstruct so we can rebuild
What he has destroyed with his minions’ lack of skill.
We know how to do this, and more.
We have done it many times before.
My thanks to my friends in Clintonville area of Columbus who helped me attend this moment of patriots’ challenge to the con men robbing the USA of its power, wealth, ideals and humanity. The lack of media coverage was appalling. The misrepresentation of attendance numbers cannot be challenged when media fails to provide images of the gatherings. A local station covered it AFTER it was over and crowds had dispersed. Another stated hundreds attended when it was actually thousands. We are here. We are resisting. We are going nowhere until the despotism and kidnapping of people and the Supreme Court, universities, news organizations, social media outlets, medical and public health Institutions… even our very language and the meaning of words and phrases has been brought to an end and freedom restored.
We shall not be silenced.
Leave a comment
Filed under COMMENTARY, POETRY, POLITICS
Tagged as activism, American democracy, American History, animals, anxiety, authoritarians, AUTOCRATS, Bill of rights, bullies, citizens united, civil rights, climate change, community, congress, corruption, courts, creativity, DEATH OF DEMOCRACY, democracy, discrimination, disinformation, diversity, DOJ, economics, economy, education, election, elections, environment, fascism, FBI, free speech, freedom, global warming, government, grassroots organizing, greed, gun control, gun regulation, health, health care, history, human rights, HYPOCRISY, immigrants, immigration, insurrection, isolation, J.D.Vance, journalism, judges, justice, laughter, law, leadership, LGBT, lies, light, MAGA, media, mental-health, middle class, misogyny, money, national security, news, news media, No Kings, NOEM, Ohio, Ohio politics, oligarchs, pandemic, patriotism, peaceful protest, photography, poetry, poets, political propaganda, politics, power, Project 2025, propaganda, protest, racism, republican leadership, Republican Party, resilience, resistance, resistance movement, rule of law, security, silence, social media, Supreme Court, teenagers, trump, Trump administration, truth, U.S. Supreme Court, Us Constitution, VOTE, voter suppression, voters, voting, voting rights, white supremacy, woke, women's health care, workers, youth