Government Shutdown

Better to shut it down than to have them do it:

Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, nurse the sick.

The republic suffers.

It was designed to work when distance was real,

When it took time to think before the letter was sent,

When hours were kept.

Today: no distance, no reflection--e-mail, tweet.

Better to shut it down than to have them tax

Those who have grain stored in their barns

So that the weak can have hope and bread.

So it goes: the device (House of Representatives)

Designed to protect the poor,

Has been commandeered by the rich.

We have only a blurred vision of the past.

The mist seduces us into seeing what is not there.

--October 1, 2013