dear 45

dear 45

to smash a window is to speak
to march is to speak
and to sing -
o, round-headed man:
go suck an egg
or twenty. o, small-handed
man: a firm grip produces
only white knuckles. o,
orange man: does color
bother you so dearly? o,
carrot man: who is the rabbit
to your stalk?

to break or not to break
(storefronts, police
cars, hydrants, spirit,
will) that was never
the question. to bend
amend
ments,
to bend arms behind 
backs, cuff 
them in kangaroo
courts, to bend
and never box. o, clean
small-handed man, come
get them dirty
like the rest of you,
fermented,
ripe,
and maggot-ridden
as the fruit that rests
unpicked while the wingless
migrant birds
have been taxied home south
for the long winter
ahead.