Yes we must converse

When conversation has few takers

Should the noise of resolute unconcern

Deter, speak with the flower pot

Or the wall; they respond with

Steady listening and never fail

To send back vibes for a soulful tale.

 

Yes we must smile when there is

Little to smile about.

An inward smile helps conquer

Crassness and terrified doubt.

 

Yes, in spiritual defiance,

We must push aside instruments

That monotone gods invent

For our sopoforic silence.

 

Yes we must draw human sense

From the dog who nods

His sentient head or wags his tail

To a gesture not understood by men or gods.

 

Yes, when the pall of undifferentiated

Tyranny seals our souls,

We must, like fools

Of tenderness and clowns of truth

Laugh inebriated in the face

Of swagger and assassination,

And vanquish pitiful authority

With the self-knowledge

Of an elation that befuddles

Diktat, harangue, cruelty.

 

Yes, we must celebrate most

When joy is least at hand.

Yes, we must insist when insistence

Is perilous to the monotone of command.

 

Yes, however the seasons change,

We must keep coming back like the grass

That no boulder may contain.

Yes, we must remember that when

The heat of death kills the savannah,

Many animals remain.

 

Yes, we must remember that when nobody

Is responding, there is always someone

On the other side who is not responding.

Yes, we must make that screaming silence

The renewed source of our bonding.

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