A Poem

I recently had a reason to go through my old poetry, and I found this poem, which I wrote in 2001. It had potential, so I revised it, and I'm finally happy with it.

for one who feels he has the voice of an ant in a field of lawnmowers
(or Ants against the War Machine)

I have seen ants
marching
in columns
across a road
in Africa
where a war raged —
these men against those men,
those men against these —
but every man
stepping aside
for the steady line of army ants
unaware of tanks
or guns
or men with rifles.

And after,
I have looked
to see
the bones of a snake,
overcome by the slow
garrison
moving in unison —
each too small
to matter —
together
swallowing the serpent.

Prayers against Poverty

Last Saturday, during the day, Rob and I took the Second Class bus from Oaxaca, where we were vacationing, to Teotitlan del Valle, an artist community about twenty miles outside the city. In Teotitlan, we had a very expensive lunch -- touted by friends as the best in the valley -- and after we got back, we spent the afternoon walking through the huge, real market that surrounds the second-class bus station (as opposed to the less-real-seeming markets in Oaxaca City, which appear to be mostly for tourists and wealthier Oaxacans). The contrast between our lunch in solidly middle-class Teotitlan, and the cramped alleys of Mercado Abastos couldn't have been starker.

When we got back to our five-star hotel, we saw that the "movie star" was back from her day as well, because her body guards stalked the lobby in baggy shirts and earpieces. In the splendidly manicured courtyards, two brides in hundred-thousand-peso dresses were getting their pictures taken in the perfect late-afternoon light. And that night, as I lay in bed surrounded by the rooms of a former convent now filled with wealthy Mexicans and Europeans, I thought a lot about the extreme contrasts in Mexico between the rich and the poor. I also admit I despaired a little at the enormity of the problem of poverty -- and felt guilty at my participation in it -- even as I prayed for for the welfare of the people I'd literally bumped into that day at the market.

Then this afternoon, as I caught up on email, I discovered that many other people were meditating on world poverty that night. October 16th to 18th was designated by the United Nations as a time for "a global call to action against poverty" called STAND UP and TAKE ACTION. A friend belongs to a religious society that had committed to pray at 9pm on Saturday night in every time zone "for the wellness of all impoverished," and she emailed me an invitation to join in the prayers.

I'm still overwhelmed by the poverty I witnessed in Oaxaca, but I also believe in the power of prayer (especially if its part of a plan that includes further action). And I'm glad I was able to participate in my friend's prayers, even if I did it inadvertently.