political silence in poetry

“Let’s stop making everything political.”
Baby, we weren’t the ones that did this.
We were trying our best to live and let live.
But the cruel bastards went ahead and did this.
Simply being an artist is a political act now.
Simply going to a doctor is a political act now.
Simply being old or a woman or infirm is a political act now.
Simply taking a shit without some thumper demanding a genital check is a political act now.
Simply getting sick is a political act now.
Simply being anything other than the WASPiest of Protestants is a political act now.
Simply believing in Allah or Yahweh or many gods or no gods is a political act now.
Simply believing in love is a political act now.
Simply having skin darker than a Band-Aid is a political act now.
Simply expecting clean drinking water is a political act now.
Everything is a political act now
we’re not the ones who made it that way to reinforce old hateful worldviews
but here we are and we’re going to defend our rights to be
we didn’t start this but we’re gonna see it through
to pretend otherwise is to stick one’s head like an ostrich
into the shifting sands of your remaining privilege
until the ostrich farmer comes with an axe for you.
I for one will scream that there’s a madman with an axe coming for our heads
and I will keep screaming until he is disarmed or I am dead.
That’s the world that we’re now in.
“Let’s stop making everything political.”
We didn’t do this, it already happened
but we’re not going to shut up now
the genie’s out of the bottle
so we’re gonna fight back
we’re gonna fight and how.
They made this political, that’s how they begin
deep down they know that silence
is the only way that they can win.
So let’s be loud.
So let’s be proud.