    Why didn’t I simply say
people like us here
at this table
should not just talk about politics
which let’s face it
we can do nothing about
we should talk about culture
preparing people’s minds
for tomorrow’s revolution
and if pain like Blake’s
in the left foot forces us
to be poets who mind
we can turn to the black windshield
in front of our eyes
smeared by journalists academics
and worst of all our friends
with the grime of facts
and clean it a bit with hope
hope powerful because
it has always been there
in the minds of those most healthy
while we wait for the great poet
on whose shoulder
that bird flying
above and ahead of us
in the darkness
will come down briefly to rest.
