Hummels on the Doorstep
no judgment on the unclaimed Hummels,
one disaster after another decreasing the importance
of the ceramic girl with the geese
and the boy reading,
demoted to the role of luxuries
(which they already were –
post-WWII knicknacks
celebrating not only
a rapidly disappearing pastoral past
but, also, the fact that
you didn’t expect disaster
to rattle him, her, or
any other china figurines,
no fiery bombs that day –
a luxurious certainty
that’s chipped and cracked now)
twice the bang for my buck
for one year
I’ve been reading Howard Zinn with friends
slogging through endless accounts
of the machine’s extreme indifference
grappling with the incalculable odds anyone is up against
when demanding decency
getting schooled in
the countless pretenses for war
it’s been a hard go
but here’s what I’ve gathered:
oppose war always
support unions unequivocally
demand accountability
take care of one another
hope is all we have
today the United Food and Commercial Workers
International Union Local 7
sent my donated Hardship money back
saying since the strike was short and sweet
they don’t need it after all
but, since I managed to part with it once,
they invite the 850 of us who gave
$55,000 total
to send those dollars right back out again
to others in need
I tear up and grin when I read this –
this is how Zinn and I believe
we are supposed to live:
taking what we need
giving back the rest
helping someone else
when our ledger’s in the black
I surely don’t do enough
keep way too much for my hypothetical rainy day
but this time I’m so glad
to let this money work its magic twice
now these ones and zeroes are snaking
their way through cyberspace
ready to be a drop in the bucket
a Marshall Fire survivor needs
satellite stream while awaiting the Okarito kiwi
at least 30 glowing pearls on a string
arc across the sky
below Orion’s belt
evenly spaced
long enough for us to
discuss the phenomenon
while it unfolds
satellites, the simple answer
but to what end?
the old Englishman and I both say
we’ve never seen anything like it before
what could it mean
but war?
at the library next day
I consult the 1s and 0s
and quickly find an answer
Starlink-1, a chain of 60 satellites
Elon Musk’s put in the sky
sailing over New Zealand each night,
an effort at connection not destruction
another wonder
that still doesn’t approach
my delight at seeing
B-Zed the kiwi
