Who Has Humanitarian Dreams?

The surface of the planet
Bears a thin but seething sheen
Of people telling people

Telling people what to do.
Consensus yields enforcement,
But never more than local,

And every consensus shoves
Up against another one.
Often this gets violent.

Everyone’s telling someone
Or trying to rip telling
Gifts away. There’s no telling

What will come of this. It’s no
Surprise there’s so much conflict.
And yet, so much of it works,

Since people like to be told,
Sometimes, as well as to tell.
Who can be trusted to tell?