Your Right

Not territorial, entirely,
Nor entirely social rank or might.
Ownership is a sub-specialty,

But private property arrived late
And is neither that innovative
Nor that uniquely nefarious.

The right of way. Hunting, water rights.
Right of first refusal. Right to claim
The mummified ancestral remains.

Right to wear this sumptuous fabric
Dyed in royal purple or blue woad.
Right to a seat. The right to be heard.

Right to life. Right to chose. Right to vote.
Right to bear arms. Right to speak freely.
Right to remain silent. Right to die.

Alienable, if you’re honest
About it—all alienable,
All determined by human beings,

And all enforced by human beings.
And how small would blood-soaked quarrels be
Without this universal notion

Of entitlements agreed-upon
In the abstract, worth deadly dispute?
Who’s right, whose right? Your right is divine.