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my town council convenes
in suits and dark dresses
up on their dais
far away from us
their voices are soft
speaking through microphones
talking in monotones
one phrase then another
they talk of budgets
fire fighters and police
buildings and zoning
garbage and streets
i know this matters
i know it's important
but i cannot give it
the attention it needs
instead i think
of the planes and the drones
the missiles and bombs
the guns and the soldiers
the rubble of buildings
the dead in the streets
the refugees fleeing
the cities and towns
but the things we do there
to the people in those towns
are not the decision
of anyone here
not the decision
of those in my town
of those on the council
not even the mayor
the things that we do
far away in those places
are decided by others
in chambers like this
in chambers like this one
where some of them sit
on daises much like
the one that is here
their voices are soft
speaking through microphones
talking in monotones
one phrase then another
they too talk of budgets
but for soldiers and guns
for tanks and bombs
and planes and drones
i know this matters
i know it's important
but i cannot give it
the attention it needs
instead i think just
of the fear and the pain
the wounds and the blood
the loss and the grief...
the council adjourns
and everyone smiles
their work for the night
is done...
but i can’t i can’t
keep thinking of fear
and pain and loss
and grief
i know these things matter
i know they’re important
but i cannot give them
the attention they need
perhaps
if the guns
and the bombs
were right here
perhaps
if the planes
and drones
roared above me
perhaps if
the rubble
the dead in the streets
the refugees fleeing
the fear
the pain
the wounds
the blood
the loss
the grief
all came to my town
then perhaps
then perhaps
it would matter
then perhaps
it would matter enough
to give it
the attention
it needs
Roger Stoll is a retired music teacher in San Rafael, California. He has published political verse in the North Bay Progressive Newspaper, the Pacific Sun and TheNewVerse.News, as well as essays in the San Francisco Examiner, ZNet and Counterpunch. He has been arrested numerous times while committing civil disobedience on behalf of numerous causes and is a member of the political affinity group ¡Presente!.
