“Hokey Pokey” [War – Sub Series Number One – Reflections on Timothy Snyder’s Book, On Tyranny – Poem #13 – Chapter 13]
“You put your ‘right’ foot in…
***
You put your ‘left’ foot out…
You put your ‘whole self’ in…
And you shake it all about…
You do the hokey-pokey…
And ‘turn’ yourself about…
That’s what it’s all about”“Get involved he says from left or right;
Left out’s no good in darkest night;
From Judas’ park to Peter’s yard,
If right you are, you’ll find this hard.“Go march”, he says, some April day;
You may just win – some June-bug sway;
Go where your body feels the stress
Of being midst unfriendliness.Keep self aloof – seen or unseen –
A choice that’s yours – that part has been
Quite evident since Jesus’ days,
As clock-timed out his final plays.Selective memory clicked in
As humans played out human sin;
“Sit tight, friend Stu; in silence go,
And listen close if you would know –“The what, and who, and when, and why –
Not all at once; though you will die
In being crash-test-dummy type,
Amidst the ‘left’, as ’midst the ‘right’.“Trust Me, I have a plan in this –
Though ‘court’ will not be scene of bliss;
Show up; shut up; say nothing, man,
And you’ll learn more – you’ll understand.The trigger-girl emerged that day;
Then chat with school-guy – heard him say,
“A fish-bowl, happy-fish swim ’round,
And ’round where they don’t make a sound.The players? In New Testament –
Just change their names, though curtain’s wrent
Two thousand years before that date,
Dynamics stayed – next at the plate.But final piece fell into place
When Rabbi-friend showed human race
To be the same around the globe,
From Abe, to Christ, to us, – for old –Is story of indulgences –
Of parents awkwardness that was
The problem Abe had in his day –
“Just ‘yes and ‘give , let evil play”.But when the “No” hit home for Abe,
(As also in this case, he says
In this small tome), his life returned;
His son was saved; and ram got burned.She said the angels screamed that night;
Tears flowed from them, that pity might
Be shown by father on the earth,
To son of promise ’fore his birth.Engage yourself, the author says,
Not just on Internet where plays
Are worked out with a click of mouse,
And algorithms rule the house.Drop difference for a common cause;
Stop enemies – for if you pause
To save your butt, you’ll lose it all;
It’s been that way since Adam’s fall.Lord, thanks for putting me on scene
Your way – where larger truth has been
Played out, I lost – I laid it down,
As you requested – ’fore the dawn.Thanks Lord for this.
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