SONGLESS

What is the point

of being artists

if we cannot save our life?

That is the cry

that wakes us

in our sleep.

Being happy is not the only

happiness.

And how many gadgets

can one person manage

at one time?

Over in the Other World

the women count

their wealth

in empty

calabashes.

How to transport

food

from watering hole

to watering

hole

has ceased to be

a problem

since the animals

died

and seed grain shrunk

to fit the pocket.

Now

it is just a matter

of who can create

the finest

decorations

on the empty

pots.

They say in Nicaragua

the whole

government

writes,

makes music

and paints,

saving their own

and helping the people save

their own lives.

(I ask you to notice

who, songless,

rules us

here.)

They say in Nicaragua

the whole

government

writes

and makes

music

saving its own

and helping the people save

their own lives.

These are not containers

void of food.

These are not decorations

on empty pots.