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| At protests, mostly white crowds show how pandemic has widened racial and political divisions. —Los Angeles Times, May 8, 2020 |
“The seeming needs of my fool-driven land”
. . . the need to flock
to beaches, to swarm
into parks, the need
to hear a preacher
in person, to crush
together in bars . . .
the need to fear
the foreigner, to toy
with the facts, the need
to exploit the poor,
to be free of caring
about the dying . . .
the need to brandish
a weapon, to rally
in support of a fool . . .
William Aarnes lives in South Carolina.