Give a second thought

For some being alive
is before everything
an enduring second
lived before & during
& after it's happening,

a present wrapped in
rice paper & red wax,
human nuisance again
stuffed in the furnace
while money struts,

the painted war horse
that rocks us all to hell
last week vomited napalm
on innocent Iraqi children
one minute they had skin
one second they have none.

For some being alive
is after all everything,
a resigned shoulder
shrugged beneath
a Cashmere coat,

worn before & during
& after just another
atrocities happening.

Far away beneath TV's
embedded lens, close
to our skin,our spirits
wriggle uncontrollably
towards the off switch.




John G.Hall(C)2004