“Poem Before Bed” by Trevor Witt
I wish I could just pour it out onto the page in one graceful, eloquent puddle of meaning.
I wish I could say exactly what I mean and not have to choose between words,
Rather letting them come to me, flowing like a river downstream,
Carrying pebbles of wisdom, and loving, nourishing words of water.
But sadly, my words do not flow like a rushing river.
They do not gently swim into my head and onto the page,
Like fish traveling with the current.
I wish I could just tear out my soul and put it on paper,
I wish I could read from my heart,
But I am left thinking, pausing, contemplating,
Every frus-tra-ting word,
Every simple thought,
Making it more complex than it needs to be,
Thinking about how everyone else will judge it,
Fearing what one person might say or think,
Because my judgments are not good enough,
My judgments carry no weight.
I am no success story.
I am no masters student.
I am no credentialed teacher.
I am just a guy, just twenty-six,
Working in a coffee shop,
Trying my best, just to get by.
I am no hero of an epic poem,
I am no wizard with the written word.
I am no silky, smooth poet,
Who lets his words drop heavy like bombs,
And yet gently like rain.
I am just a kid,
Who overthinks,
Every,
Little,
Thing.
So, now you know.
Now you know why I am quiet.
Now you know why I just can’t say everything I mean.
I prefer careful calculations,
Due to fear
Of being misunderstood,
And out of love,
For the slight nuances in meaning
Each word brings to the table.
I wish I could just spill my guts,
But it’s so juvenile,
So high school,
So over the top,
Even though, sometimes,
I feel that, if I don’t spill,
I will blow my top.
So I hope you understand,
That, as a man without a plan,
There is no way for me to command,
What I say now or what might come next,
I am not trying to write jibber jabber or a disclaimer,
But I just want you to do me this little favor.
Please, please, please don’t judge me by this one poem,
Because it is not my best, it is not my worst.
It was just something that I had to do,
To get off my chest,
So that I could rest.
And I couldn’t care less if it fails your test,
Because this one is for me.
“How Democracy Dies” by Trevor Witt
Naval ships,
Like pieces on a chessboard,
Advance the objective,
To maintain power over the adversary.
Dueling claims in the South China Sea,
Buildup in the Persian Gulf,
Conflicts around the bend.
In Ukraine,
Corrupt presidents overthrown,
“Trouble makers” taking over buildings,
Troop amassing at the border,
Special forces clearing areas of protesters and “provocateurs”,
Terrorists – acting only in the interests of some opponent whose only motivation is to oppose,
And freedom fighters – acting only to defend their freedom from some enemy whose only motivation is to take away their freedom.
Governments and politicians –
Whose job descriptions include maintaining order –
Vie for the sacred title of the “strongest”,
Wrangle over media coverage offering different points of view,
Wrestle and jockey with each other for position,
As each one knows, only they can provide real security.
Each one comes up with innovative ideas for the defense of the homeland,
As the enemy constantly evolves, designing more complex threats to overcome better defenses.
“We will crush them!”
The leader vows.
“We will wipe them off the face of the earth!”
He says, to the thundering applause of the masses.
“They are threatening your brothers, your sisters, your sons, and your wives!”
Shouts the leader.
“They hate us and are threatening our way of life,
They want to take our land and our resources.
There is no room in their narrative for us.
They will take everything they can,
All we can do is kill them,
If only there was another way!
But there is not!
We are being forced to do this!
We must defend ourselves!”
Declares the leader self-righteously.
The crowd agrees.
No one dares question the leader.
They are in power and have access to secret information.
They know all the threats that we face and deal with challenges we can only dream of.
How can any logical person question a state apparatus which has millions of people behind it?
Does the individual think that he or she knows better than millions?
This is how democracy dies.
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