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| I remember, "Make Love, not war" |
Mailed me a bumper sticker that
Brought me back to the ‘60s.
Garish and brash, unmistakeably
Outfront, like themselves as
Antiwar activists, it’ll appear
On the bumper of my stately
Maroon sedan only if I can
Convince myself the tiny pink
Placard will not utterly undo
The seriousness of the Romanly
Aristocratic purple. But
Hasn’t that been my problem
Throughout—the schizoid
Cassandra, warning of the
Coming doom but smirking
All the while, eager to get in
Just one more laugh before
The heavens fall? I admire
The CODEPINK activists,
Not all of whom are ladies
Though mostly, but because
Of one Medea Benjamin who
Has many more than once
Confronted the powerful in
Washington and the world. I
Recall hearing of her ringing
The home doorbell of John
Brennan, Director of the CIA,
To accost him on his porch
About illegal drone killing
Directly to his face. She is
Diminutive. What a Davidine
And Goliath image it would
Have been had they gotten it
On video! How gloriously apt!
A petite figure (a woman
Yet) how characteristically
Powerless standing up to one
Of the most powerful people
In the government, someone
Who could have her morally
Upright and pink-sweatered
Body tossed summarily into
The Potomac one night but for
Her notoriously staunch and
Adamant opposition. It would
Be like carting off the Washington
Monument—as big a project
And as noticeable. I was with them
In March of 2011 when a batch
Of lefties gathered in the District
To protest continuation of the wars.
As far as I’m concerned they’re
On the right side of history: against
Dump for the obvious ignorance,
Racism, xenophobia, misogyny,
And domination by the Bratbart
Ultra-Right; against Clinton for
Her kowtowing to Israel’s facsists,
Wall Street’s money, and her
Unwillingness to shed her
Conflicted Foundation. They’re
For BDS, against weapons to the
Saudis, for justice for Palestine, for
A local peace economy, against
Militarized police, and unlike so
Many men in our government—
They’ve got balls. It’ll be on
My bumper tomorrow.
c. J.S.Manista, 2016
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