stream of consciousness

i dont regret voting nader in 2000.

i regret instead that dems left it

to black representatives to fight

for justice and that

so many bought the lie

that my vote cost dems

the election and

brought every disaster since.

and i regret that nader now drives

a corvair between the parted waters,

a lost prophet moses in a desert,

unsafe at any speed

and with a semi full of

absinthe tailgating him.

no plan for unity after that election,

the gulf between us still as poisonous

as flints water, stirred by betty crocker

doing her best imitation

of something named katrina.

i dont regret voting for obama twice.

it was the right thing to do

if you’re serious about

change. but I do regret eight years with no plan

to push, to fight back for blacklivesbrownlives

indianssyrianskurdshonduransafghansbirdsfishwolvesworkers

and the vet two doors down

who killed himself this summer.

we wanted

sanders and still do

wanted sanders wanting marx

wanting lenin wanting nkrumah

wanting toussaint l'ouverture wanting

marat wanting louise michel

wanting big bill haywood

wanting la pasionara.

saccharine drips

from hillary clintons lips,

the auh20 girls arrow points right

for a reason. the candid camera news

finds trump modeling mussolini’s jodhpurs

and declares troy davis innocent. you knew it

all along but were afraid to speak truth

to powerlessness.

no plan after gore

no plan after obama

no plan after sanders

no plan after clinton

no plan after trump

no plan except facebook

cat videos and lilo pics

and maybe watching the bravest

black youth taking the hit

and you acting wise behind it all,

like you have a line on something.

are you counting on global warming

to make this swamp recede?

on november 9 you will go to work,

read the paper, perhaps mourn

for another person of color

killed in the line of duty

of living. the boss the police the parents the principal

the dean the bank the health insurer the drill sergeant

the bill collector the crazed husband the dealer the new

issue of people the oxycodone the loose muffler the police

the tsa the dems the republicans the greens the libertarians

the new circus come to town the preacher the nra the pba the

dhs the ins the shrink the extra 15 pounds the internet porn the

police the nightmares the ptsd the operation you need the desire to

be someone else somewhere else the police the 911 truthers the hillarys

telling you that you cant dream the police will have their way with you and

life may go on.

its not that the deck is stacked,

its that diamonds were never meant for you

and the deck has no hearts.

clubs and spades have suited us best over the

years, but its the jokers we honor most. tarot may

be the devil’s work, but we’re surely catching hell and

the upside down hanged man has a story to tell you.
listen carefully.

they lie to us.

its their job.

some people make steel.

some people drive trucks.

some people wait tables.

some people tell lies.

some people fall in love with lying,

others in love with liars.

the half-life of their lies

lasts longer than

the nuclear waste

on that reservation,

extends longer than

that pipeline.

it really is that simple.

dont fall for trump telling you to

make america grate again

or some ayn rand fable

or some green jam

or some hillary jive.

atlas shrugged because he didnt

give a damn about you.

i don’t care if you

vote green or vote hillary.

no vote against trump is wasted.

but any bartender

worth her rye

will tell you

its the morning after

that matters.

have a cure for the four year hangover

that will surely come

no matter who wins.

and forget the advice

that tells you to

drink more poison

to feel better.

what will your protest sign say?

what will you tell

the guy at the gas station

with his ar 15?

how will you explain to the cop that,

no, you wont move out of the street,

or to your boss that youre on strike

or that life weighs more than dollars?

what will you tell the tsa man at the airport

as he lines you up, yells at you, has you

remove clothing items and moves you

towards a gate? the grainy 1940s

film, silent loops of acetate, rewind.

can you tell nestle no, we need our water?

can you tell the butcher no, that calf has rights?

can you tell the bureaucrat no, this is our union?

can you beg your heart for one more day

and use it to fight for kidspeacewomenjustice

gaysairtranspeopledemocracypeopleofcolor

yourcoworkersabortionrightspuertoricowater

librarieshousing and that lost old man on the bus?

can you say, no, shes my sister, you cant

take her without taking me? will the wall be

better if its built by union labor?

practice your lines right now, tonight.

youre needed.