Posts Tagged ‘protest’

The Light’s Gone Out (again)
By David Allen

It’s getting darker in America
We have somehow lost the dawn
We move slowly as the light dims
And wonder what went wrong

Lady Liberty’s torch is out
It no longer lights the way
We choke on the wisps of smoke
As we face darker days.

Fear and hate now rule the land
It’s the opposite of our dawn
When we welcomed the huddled mass
Escaping foreign wrongs.

But now we limit travel
Because of a viral threat
And watch on TV the horror
Of a black man kneed to death.

As we take to the streets to protest
Our mad leader makes it known
He’ll use all the means at his disposal
To ensure the Dove of Peace has flown.

We’re living in a land divided
By race, religion, and much more
Left and Right poles further splitting
In a mad rush to settle scores.

It’s the opposite of dawn
This nightmare land of fear
And when we’ll see the sun again
Isn’t very clear.

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BEHIND THE HEADLINES
By David Allen

“Okinawa in Turmoil
In Airman Rape Case”

That’s the headline
The reality?
Twenty protesters gather
At the air base’s front gate
Shout slogans,
Shake fists,
Then hop the bus and stop
For burgers at McDonald’s.
Politicians in Naha
Do the dance of the outraged
And make plans for more
Gomen money from Tokyo.
Maybe they’ll use it
To pave another road to nowhere.
My neighbor, Eizo,
Descended from kings,
Walks into Paul’s pad
Outraged.
Outraged the gaijins
Who rent his cabins
Don’t appreciate his favorite beer.
“Budweiser number one!
Budweiser ichiban!”
He shouts.
Paul, an Irishman from London, laughs,
“Bud number ten!” he shouts
And offers the King of Iha,
Standing there barefoot in a white tee-shirt
and blue work pants,
His glass of Guinness.
“Slante,’” Paul toasts. “Drink this.”
“No, no,” Eizo laughs. “No good.”
They compromise with glasses
Of Okinawa awamori over ice
Another international dispute settled.

Cabin Serendip, Okinawa
Summer 2001

 

My second book of poetry, “(more)’ is now available on Amazon Kindle. The paperback edition is also available. If you want a signed copy, email me at david@davidallen.nu. Order your copy today! I am like most poets — poor.

http://www.amazon.com/more-David-Allen-ebook/dp/B00N6W3DP8/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=1-2&keywords=%28more%29+by+David+Allen