Savoring Systemic Blessings

Spring itself is both—lazy
And prolific—and it turns

Out you are even more so.
How is that? You have been blessed

By peaceful decades nested
In a great hegemony,

Slowly fraying now and prone
To outbursts of violence.

Only a few months ago,
A local village hosted

What’s bureaucratically called
An active shooter. Actions

Are overrated. Quiet
Comes more rarely and should be

Savored. You built none of this
You’ve lived your small life within.

Some things witnessed you’ve endorsed,
Some you’ve protested meekly.

Others others. Faith in speech,
Prosperity, and free choice

Mingle with calls for justice,
Cousins of the republic.

More recently revanchists
Who haven’t even lost yet

Have held up their upper hands.
Wait until your empire’s split

Before you eat a lifetime
Writing poems reclaiming it.

If you live too well, too long,
You may live to see all gone.