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| ACLU People Power |
with sincere apologies and enormous gratitude
to paul simon
the problem’s not all inside the beltway, can’t you see
and the answer’s not easy, if you take things personally
i’m going to explain it—so we can defeat this tromperie
there must be fifty ways to save your country
fifty ways to save the country
you say it grieves you so to see your rights withdrawn
and you can’t sleep at night, you toss and turn till dawn
so please tell yourself you won’t just lie there, fret, and yawn
there must be fifty ways to save your country
fifty ways to save the country
just jot down a plan, dee ann
go to the poll, noel
vote out the jerk, kirk
come, listen to me
march on the square, claire
give your voice sway, josé
protest the wall, saul
soon, results you will see!
join in a rally, sally
promote the facts, max
speak out the truth, ruth
till the seed grows a tree
e-mail a friend, hind
make your tweets ring, ming
keep the thoughts straight, kate
they can’t stop you and me
start a campaign, lorraine
draw a cartoon, haroun
sing a strong song, jong
even better, all three!
counter that spin, gwen
support the press, bess
write an op-ed, ahmed
for the truth sets you free
yes, the truth sets you free!
Brenda J. Gannam, an Arab-American living in Brooklyn, has been a member of the New York poetry community for 25+ years and has published her poems and haiku in a variety of journals and anthologies in print and online.