POEM IN THE LAST YEAR OF EARTH

POEM BEFORE THE END OF THE EARTH

dreams
nightmares all the time
28 out of 30 days
scenes from the past
my dead mother calling to me
two nights ago a ghastly figure
in a dust cloud following me down a dark road
i turned and waited for it to arrive
a face, clearly defined, Death itself
before me
my mind, my imagination the earth itself
screaming out
6000 years of failure
25 million years of failure
until now
what are you going to do
occupy wall street?
yes, occupy wall street, that's a good beginning
but we'd better occupy our own hearts
our own moral faculties
our own intellects
we must not burn the books in favor of ipads!
what the hell is that?
occupy your own sweet life, then prepare yourself,
educate yourself, get ready for the battle
for earth and souls
what should we do, one asks
what should the future be?
take to the streets, is my immediate answer
don't be nice about it
you really are dealing with bastards
they don't give a shit about you, the nation, the earth,
nothing at all
they only care about the incessant, compulsive urge that
drives them into oblivion
one long, endless, selfish orgasm
that's what wall street and wall streeters are about
from lower manhattan to nebraska
to spring lake to boca raton to new mexico
in their bedrooms, boardrooms, bathrooms
it's all the same
the urge to act, to move, to do something, to
be busy, with anything, for any reason
never, for a moment, to stop and feel themselves
alive, to suffer the human condition consciously,
nobly, to see, feel, the interconnectedness of all living
things, to care a wit about people in iran, syria, china,
russia, or new jersey
occupy yourself, then, come out strong, fearless,
be a million dr. kings, a million gandhis, a million
robesons, malcolms, a million thurgoods, fierce,
and make yourselves known
but i don't, as i say, see this as a sweet occupation
i don't see it as easy
expect to be jailed
expect to have casualties
expect to be mocked and taunted
but never quit
what does the future hold?
it's all in your hands, you tell me.


rich quatrone 4/18/12