On the skeleton box car of bones and screams
the damned rattle the bars while
the wealthy dance their extravagance
along the tracks of hell.
Bloated on gold and blind to suffering
their pittance of charity doesn’t go as far
as their red leather shoe soles chasing recognition.
It doesn’t matter where I travel through history
the same is the same – The poor suffer
while the moneyed own the key to the wallet.
When doves join foxes and creatures chase light,
the grave bell no longer scares the bleeding.
Climbing stairs that only go down I carry a sword
with names of the who’s who of no longer should be.
A slice through a chain, a song of revolution
emboldens the desolate to seek retribution.
In the fire without smoke I watch the meek become bold.
There’s nothing fiercer than nothing left to lose.
I’m no superhero, no goddess demanding praise,
just a woman who wants to remove the rails
from the track so history can’t carry its malevolence
into the future.
©Susie Clevenger 2024
Shay's Word Garden ~ Life After Life
