The president of the republic
destroys all hope for a state-funded education.
He uses his veto power to deny the act of congress
that passed in my honor.
He calls my poetry insulting,
even though the verse he objects to
is just a parable about an angry ruler
who smashes his crown against a throne.
Yes, of course I’ll continue to criticize
foolish leaders wherever I find them.
That’s a decision I made at the edge of a swamp,
when I saw a man’s severed hand flying.
Poets must speak, no matter the punishment.
We are observers with musical voices, testifying
in the courtrooms
of nature
and human life.