this experiment was done
not so very long ago
it showed us the way that we
do whatever we are told

they believed they gave him shocks
until he made no more sound
even those who walked away
did not try to shut it down

I think that it goes to show
who we really are inside
not just "them" but all of us
who pretend we could decide

we want to believe that we
have some different kind of brain
NO ONE TRIED TO SHUT IT DOWN
and we follow just the same

we do not love war
for war does not love

we bear our own life
we share our own blood

our power runs deep
deeper than your sword

silence is our violence
we do not need yours

can you feel it

the tension
of the uncertain

a faint electric current
just under the surface
a half second deep

and half sleeping we keep
our third eye
on the timeline

waiting
for the silence to break

she cannot speak
except to growl
to howl
to moan
to shriek

her words
her world
are meat and bone
eyes and thighs and teeth

she races like a wolf
through her sleep
she chases dreams
schemes
pieces of memories
like sheep

I reach out
with my words

does she understand me?

I feel her snarl
across my teeth

life runs deep
and talk is cheap

I have also crawled

Claw on wall
Out of that place

Let me light your way

you hate people
with your whole heart
for what they say
not what they do

you say
I have to hate them too

why is hatred so important to you?

in town
I was surprised to see
the first pink blooms
a cherry tree

so pretty

I was not prepared

I stopped and smiled
I stood and stared