4

Defenders of our coast

voices calling out indignation

bodies claiming streets

minds conceiving this vision

of a more giving world—

show me no solitary discontents

show me no pathetic policies

of  a meandering middle road

show me no compromise

with chemical economics—

every barrel that doesn’t spill

into our rivers and seas

spills into the air we breathe

Defenders—is it true

there’s never quite enough

of us to encircle power

or bridge the gap of privilege

where CEOs lisp dear heart

as they pump liquid assets?

Don’t fall into that trap

that the public is over there

waiting to be addressed—

no—we are the public

exploding back into existence

a whale rising to breach

off the bow of a rusting tanker