We Stand!

 

We Stand!
(A rant with line breaks)
 
We stand:
To wait in line…
To let people past
            In the theater…
And some of us
            To pee…
We stand for Ukraine!
 
We stand:
To wait in what line?
            The line to get a gun?
            The line to get into Poland?
                        No not us.
 
We stand:
            To let Russian tanks pass?
            To piss on the Russians?
                        (But I am sure they have raincoats.)
 
We stand:
            And the Russians stand
                        In lines
                        At the banks.
                            What a shame and torture!
 
We stand:
            For racism…
                        Apparently…
                        If we don’t stand
                        For what ‘The Times’ wants.
 
We stand:
            In what lines?
            In what peril?
            In what country?
                        And on what border?
                                    So far away.
                                               But: We stand!
 
We stand:
            In our football stadiums…
            In our free streets…
            In our banks full of cash…
            In our homes…
                        Warmed by their gas.
 
We stand:
            In silence…
            In solidarity?
            That says next to nothing…
            And does even less.
 
Don’t just stand there!
            Do something!
Sanction and speak…
Warn and chastise…
Send aid,
            That may never get there.
            That makes us feel better.
 
We stand!
As:
    Planes can fly…
    Bombs can drop…
                        And explode!
    Missiles can fly…
    Guns can shoot…
                        As people crouch
                                    Lay down…
                                    Run…
As we stand!
 
We stand…
            Is that better:
                        Then speaking loud,
                        And doing nothing?
 
We stand…
            Does that deflect bullets?
            Does it stop bombs?
                        As we talk on and on…
 
Standing isn’t
            Complicity
            Or aid
                To those that act, attack.
But it isn’t much more.
It is…
            Virtue and vitriol…
            But little more.
It is…
            A spine,
                        That carries no weight,
                        That stands up to nothing.
 
We may cry and scream:
            As we stand,
            In our safe space…
            Our warm homes,
                        Way over here.
 
Oh fuck it!
            Half blind
            And hundreds of miles away…
            How dare I say anything!
            Aside from throwing shame
                        And screaming “NO!”
I should keep my mouth shut…
            And stand.
 
What do I know?
As I look into the eyes…
    Of students
    Who fought in a war
    Not yet two years ago.
 
They stood!
They stood next to 5000+
            Who cannot stand now.
And the world didn’t stand with them…
            Not then or now.
            It didn’t even see them.
 
They stood:
            On the lands of their ancestors…
            For democracy…
            For self-determination…
            Against ethnic cleansing…
            Against genocide,
                        Both contemporary,
                        And historical.
 
They stood on legs…
            Crippled by your need
                    for oil and gas.
 
They stood on legs…
            Crippled by your ignorance,

            And indifference.

 
They stood on land
Obscured and poisoned
            By the ignorance
            And impotence
                        Of international “law.”
 
They stood…
            And many died,

                            And were tortured,

                                And even beheaded. 

So stand…
            In your football stadiums
            In your free streets
            In your homes
                        Heated by their gas.
 
That need for gas
            That cut down
            Those that stand
            For what you claim to stand for...
            So many you have never heard of.
 
Stand now…
            For those
            That the TV shows you.
            Just sand…
                        In the place that you live…
                        That is warm and safe..
                        And feel better.
 
Some stand
            As they fuck…
And you sit:
            In front of your TV
            Or cuddled up
                        With your device.
And you watch
            As others get fucked
            By bullets
            And bombs…
                        More bloody
                        Than a thousand virgins.
            And you watch… not even standing.
'

Stand!
            And see if those
            That can no longer stand
            Really care.
 
Stand!
            If that is all it takes
            To make you feel better.