They installed a bookshelf in the faculty lounge
And congratulated themselves for
Trying to bring us together
With a battlefield.
I look for change every week.
Some proselytizer
Put Dinesh D'Souza on the shelf.
I stole into the lounge at night
And put D'Souza in the garbage.
I like to see the books nobody wants:
Two Dares to Lead,
And six Hillbilly Elegies,
Gifts from our betters
On how we can be better
Looking for survivors,
I shelved a copy of Settlers
And Labor Law for the Rank and Filer
But they haven't moved.
I'm looking for friends,
But I can't find the living.
silence
Remainder
You sent a picture today.
You were reminded of me
and you wanted to share the moment.
I listened
to the long stretches
of time
between the reminders
We Are Kept Awake at Night by the Cries of Starving Children
It’s August now, and the stores are gearing up to save the economy
The holidays are coming close and spending has been low
To cure what ails we need to spend, the price of liberty
We are the best, we need the best, as everybody knows
Ghosts and goblins frighten children until they laugh with glee
Throughout the neighborhood they scatter, to every door they go
And bring home treats they went to earn with costumed trickery
But Hind Rajab, phone in hand, cries the tanks are coming close
Thanksgiving next as leaves turn brown and red and orange and fall
The turkey fat and steaming, plucked and stuffed so we can savor
And everyone gives thanks to God, that we could gather one and all
But Nabhan’s bodies in the orchard marred our grace, ungrateful to the Savior
Then Christmas time, with all the snow, and elves and gifts and wonder
Santa Claus, he’s at the mall, with manger scene prospectus
Parents wink and purchase gifts which to the tree go under
But Mohammad Al-Motawaq, that bony babe, should starve; it’s all genetic
Would that some high stationed man with money and a suit
Could find some way to hide from me the children destitute
For their cries are shrill and feral and they break the season’s peace
I don’t feel bad; I’m just annoyed: I want their cries to cease.
Gallery View
White names on black backgrounds
Silence
“What can we say about the way this writer uses pathos?”
Silence
White names on black backgrounds
John is the only one who talks
John is speaking up again.
“I think the author sounds disappointed.”
John is speaking up again.
John is the only one who talks.
One student in the classroom.
One set of eyes to contact.
One locus of discomfort to fill the silence
One presence to reassure
White names on black backgrounds
Silence
“How is everybody feeling today? Let’s take a few minutes to chat and warm up.”
Silence
White names on black backgrounds
Sophistry and Solipsism in the New Millennium 