Changes in Position
October 12, 1998

A dream of children and kittens in the street.
Many cars,
many lights,
many lanes of traffic in the night.
I was seated in a chair,
in a house,
looking out onto a porch
then on toward the street.

Worrying for the children and the kittens;
I could not make myself heard;
I could not utter a word.
Giving up, I sat,
helpless to call or render aid,
looking through the doorway
at a dying child and cat.

Ceasing to be the generation of responsibility,
I am the generation of sitting back and watching
beginnings and births,
outcomes, endings, and deaths.
No longer a part of these things,
only one who views and takes into account,
remembers and records the days.

I remember entering the arena
with sword, shield, and spear:
now I watch from the bleachers and write,
hoping someone will take note and hear.

The combined politics of this earth
is about the business of killing the helpless
to prove points of position to the powerful.