Unhoused sisters and brothers, Civilian
Casualty-Collateral Damage,
Olâ Schmoâs sounding Sam and Dave-ishâ
âHold on, Iâm cominââŚ
Hold on, Iâm cominââŚâ
from high alert into harmâs way of your sidewalk
sleeper cellsâyour encampments, tarps and tents
sprung up like multi-colored mini-mushroom clouds
Unhoused sisters and brothers, Civilian
Casualty-Collateral Damage,
Olâ Schmoâs sounding Sam and Dave-ishâ
âHold on, Iâm cominââŚ
Hold on, Iâm cominââŚâ from high alert to coordinates
of borders between Berkeley and Oakland where youâre
Amassed.
Heâs comin' boots on the groundâSpecial Forcesâbrave
fighting men and women platoon/battalion, heavily-armedâ Amish-styleâready to raise roofs and grow foodâŚ
Capitalismâs putative leader knows the Golden Stateâs home to half his nationâs unhoused. And heâs hopping madâR2P: Responsibility To Protectâhumanitarian interventionâMAD! âWhat lousy dictator would do this to his own people?!â âOwn people!â he mumbles âWill gas be next?!â âGas?!â he babblesâŚ
Unhoused sisters and brothers, Civilian
Casualty-Collateral Damage,
Olâ Schmoâs sounding Sam and Dave-ishâ
âHold on, Iâm cominââŚ
Hold on, Iâm cominââŚâ from high alert, deploying good guys with nail-guns, hammers, saws, 2x4s, rebar, bricks and concreteâ Weapons of Mass ConstructionâBuild Back Better ainât bosh! Heâs cominâ âcause housingâs a human right;
Cominâ to get bogged down in Structural Adjustments;
Cominâ Slick Willy-ish: âI feel your painâitâs the economy stupid!â Cominâ Drone Ranger-ish: with spare âChange you can believe inâŚâ If your eyes well up when handed your keys itâs OK; OK if you burst into tears during your first shower in two years; OK to wake up in your warm laundry-fresh bed babbling: âSupport the troops!â âSupport the troops!â
Itâs OK to let good guys with Weapons of Mass Construction board planes before babysitters, teachers, midwifes, nurses, doctors and dentists as you chant, âThank you for your serviceâ over and overâŚ
Unhoused sisters and brothers, Civilian
Casualty-Collateral Damageâ
Spoiler alert:
Olâ Schmoâs changing his tune. Heâs saying he
Tolt you from da gitâfrom da jump: âNothing
would fundamentally changeâŚHeâs saying he
has a right to sing the Bluesâ a right to try to
sound more and more like Lady Day each day:
âHush now, donât explainâŚ
money waits in UkraineâŚâ
Š 2022. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.
This weekâs featured author is Steven W. Thrasher. Thrasher holds the inaugural Daniel H. Renberg chair at Northwestern Universityâs Medill School, the first journalism professorship in the worldâŚ
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