Jack Hirschman is the former poet laureate of San Francisco, and the author of many books of poetry. He is also the translator of many authors.
THE OCCUPARTY ARCANE
1.
There's a poem
being written
by the people
of the world
in a process
in motion,
a composition
by field, literally,
by camping,
in parks,
on campuses,
occupying everywhere.
It's got its twists,
absurd turns,
but its rule is
presence of breath
and being
in the truly present
after having
received the essence,
the inmost call
for democracy's
justice at last,
and so one has to
go with it
because
one's already
been spoken to
from and by the
future irrevocably.
2.
No, we're not
a picnic
on the lawn
of government,
a little verse
that says
to the 1 percent:
we want
to annoy you
a little
so that you
recognize us.
Listen, Occupiers,
unless we say
goodbye forever
to the Democruds
and Repulsivcans,
the two sides of
the coin that is
Capitalisn,
and with Greens
and independents
work all together
to create
the Occuparty,
unless we
look in that
direction
as a new
class under
the sun of
an organically
collectivized
democracy,
the army of
the Capitalist Class,
that one percent,
cops who belong
to the 99 but have
bought the bullet
along with the
brainwash
of the lie
of security---
those cops
surely won't
be doing
crosswords
when they're
ordered
to tear-gas,
mace,
club with batons
and even
shoot
to kill us and
our brothers
and sisters.
They'll only
desist
and join us
when we create
the Occuparty
born from
the poem
that's being
written
by people
of good earth
and good will
all over
the world.