Poem: To President Levin
after James Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time”
President: from the Latin praesident (sitting before)
“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” — Jiddu Krishnamurti
We ask: please explain: why posture to appear
neutral — well adjusted to sickness so fierce —
no different than the syndrome you staunchly shame,
never quite looking your ducks in the face.
Swimming abidingly — therefore alone —
means nothing if we aren’t together & bold.
Keeping isolated for ‘protective’ silence,
is not safety but a brand of violence.
And as you sit before your flock, before a storm,
what type of president will you be? What form?
Know justice, know peace;
they’re coming as we speak.
So tell us what you plan to do
when they gun down Stanford trees too,
to slice into papers for executive cries
to which you’ve, so far, “neutrally” complied.
If you, with power, stand by —
are against — violence of all kinds,
please listen intently — see the real crimes:
tell us who you’ll be in the fire next time.
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