The Big Ask

Civilization is breaking down,

broken window by broken window.   

Somedays I am a model of manners,

Other days,

I am caught with a rock in my hands.

We have become our worst enemy

defined by our fear of one another.

Fear of the other,

The mother,

Fear of the father,

Fear of the ever watching eyes of the Powers that be.

Fear of the gun lobby,

Fear of the death lobby,

Fear of the family waiting in the lobby.

Fear of our differences,

Fear of blending into something bland

Fear of understanding the mixed messages of love,

Our soapy faces coated with surface tension

Seething now

Seeing only another chance

To impress the other monkeys in the zoo

Imagining we have God given rights to encircle and enslave

We dream of a new morality without morals.

Without judgement

Without reason

Without hope

We fear the people who kneel,

We fear the hands the keep our heads underwater

We fear the people who want only the best for us,

We fear that all the getting is gone.

We fear we have nothing left to give

We fear the tender touch,

The gender touch

The dangerous beauty,

The beats on the heart of Art,

Life repels us

Death seems common, moreComplete

Will our planet death be consensual?

Can we be both innocent and complicit?

Can we be Pro-life until the baby is born

Then shoot the puppy that shits on the rug?

Are these the kind of people we invite to dinner?

Fear strangles our freedom,

Fear is the opposite of touch

Fear is not  informed by love,

Fear is something to drink

In a fascist beer garden

We need love now more than ever.

We must begin with baby steps

By learning to love ourself,

So love can spread out

Spread its wings

It’s legs

It’s mouth to ask of us the impossible question:

Is there enough love

That we can become super spreaders of love?

Our lives just may depend on it.