Friday, July 18, 2014

a song not to shoot


A second big plane from Malaysia went down,
A third Gaza war in less than ten years,
Malala’s in Africa to find those schoolgirls,
Charybdis has centered a stake in our world,
and what a wild world it’s been.

Arguably Atticus Finch shouldn’t have gifted
his kids what they wanted for Christmas:
air-rifles to shoot at tin cans (fair game)
and bluejays (ok, if less so). But this know:
“it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

Mimus polyglottos can echo any birdsong,
even the bluejay’s, if so inclined, though why
would one summon the whims of a child
with an air-rifle? Better to imitate angels,
or lay low for a season or two.

We’ve learned a few lessons from Babel, at
least how to translate what doesn’t make sense;
We’re still prone to mock another’s beliefs
and put them to memes out of hand and sight
while Atticus peaceably fights.

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