To replace a house,
it is ill-advised
to randomly weaken
the foundation.
To tamper with gas lines
while informed only
by ignorance.
To pull wires
without knowing
where they lead
or what they serve.
To rip out windows
and collapse
the hand-designed,
custom wooden frames.
To remove the roof
during rain
before the expensive,
antique floors
are protected.
To pull down walls
without understanding
how weight is distributed—
how each beam,
each brace,
each hidden support
helps hold up
the whole frame
of Democracy.
And some now shout:
“Damn the building codes.”
“Damn the building plans.”
As if survival itself
were an inconvenience.
As if restraint,
inspection,
and measured repair
were enemies
instead of protections.
Forgetting:
a reckless demolition
does not always end
with open sky.
Sometimes
it ends
with collapsed Democracy.
Jim Kelly is a California poet whose work explores democracy, race, and social justice. His poetry has appeared in Litro Magazine, Urban Pen Magazine, and Urban Poems.
