In the public plaza <br />Every child I meet <br />Looks like an orphan <br />Every mother looks <br />Like a widow <br />Every man looks <br />Stripped of pride <br />All naked, but for the <br />Threadbare clothing <br />On their emaciated bodies <br />All blind but for their eyes <br />That see their way to the plaza <br />All deaf but for the ears <br />That will hear promises <br />To lift them <br />from the pit of wretchedness <br /> <br />In the public plaza <br />You cry over the misery <br />Of the orphan <br />The widow <br />The man without self-esteem <br />You declare war <br />Against hunger <br />Against greed <br />The crack in your voice as <br />you condemn inequity <br />is so clear <br />it conquers doubts <br /> <br />You shower honey as you speak <br />With your unusually long hands, <br />You wave to the crowd <br />Of orphans, of widows <br />Of men stripped of dignity <br />Whose faces beam with hope <br />They have to hope. <br />What else comes free for them? <br /> <br />Soon, you will return <br />to the security of your edifice <br />Where you can be yourself again <br />I can see you – as in years past <br />I see you as you sit on the rocking chair <br />You unclasp your brassiere <br />And resume breastfeeding <br />The greed of the few <br /> <br />I heard you say, “I’m sorry” when <br />nothing was left to be said <br />You struggled against tears <br />Why did not the hair <br />At the back of my neck <br />Stand on their end <br />As they often do <br />When I am touched <br />By the hand of sincerity? <br /> <br />I walk away from the public plaza <br />Feeling heavier <br />than before I went <br />Wondering why I went there <br />In the first place <br />When I knew I would just witness <br />The funeral of truth again.<br /><br />Cheryl L. DaytecYañgot<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/double-talk-3/
