Broken Glass
Some recalled Kristallnacht,
the white mob’s facial fever,
once the same fever of a night,
now the fever of a day-mare.
Some recalled Charlottesville,
the white mob’s lust for blood,
once the same blood craved,
now the blood of a purgatory.
Some recalled Greenwood,
the white mob’s rampage,
once the Tulsa rage inflamed,
now the ire of the privileged.
Oh persecuted one,
aspiring despot, so maligned and martyred,
your words hang in the air like the endless
echo of wailing toddlers.
Captain of the siege,
What incendiary drivel have you sown?
What lie ignited white wrath again?
Broken glass, shards of democracy.
To steal elections, accuse your enemies of it.
To win by fraud, manufacture it.
To decertify black votes, rile white mobs.
Broken glass, shards of democracy
swept from the floors of the capitol,
the bloodied casualties,
the pipe bombs awaiting discharge,
while white thugs are protected by white justice.
Broken glass, shards of democracy.
White supremacy
beds well with fascism and capitalism.
Broken glass, shards of democracy.
When will the next carnage surface?
Where will democracy die?
Copyright © Thomas Wells | Year Posted 2021
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