#poem, Questions I Just Have to Ask…

QUESTIONS

(Francisco Bravo Cabrera-09/07/2023, Listening to Rubber Soul , The Beatles-Valencia, Spain)

Maybe Sabrett’s knows your secret,

best restaurant in New York City,

or a Kansas City barbecue has discovered what moves you,

what drives you to Mac and Cheese, meatloaf and mashed potatoes…

Why do your city crowds swim in and out, like the tide?

Why has the beat, that moves your feet changed?

Why do your blue centurions rush to battle and treat civilians like cattle?

Why do Black lives matter now?

Did they matter years before when they used a different door to seek the shelter you kept only for those deemed as White?

Did you think you were right?

When do your soldiers come home?

When does anyone ever come home when you supply cluster bombs to those in wars so far away?

What is war for anyway?

For whose gain is it that we all must pay?

Gains for the merchants of death…

Gains for those whose heads float in the clouds…

Gains for those who preach but don’t lift a finger to carry the burden they place on the real “you,” the little people,

the everyday people,

the expendable ones,

the hungry ones,

the homeless ones,

the forgotten,

alienated,

maligned,

unwanted…

You wonder who put all those things in my head?

As I? And I wish I could shut my mouth.

But I’m only asking questions…

There’s no point in the search for truth.

Why are your children raised on video games?

Digital world, computerised affection that’s replaced their parents hugs and good intentions.

Confusion in your head…

madness in your bed…

an AK-47 in your hands,

Smith & Wesson,

magic wands,

shoot the children,

burn the schools

pray to death, and blame it all on mental illness…

Violence is and killed the peaceful dove…

Who replaced chocolate floats with oxycodone?

Budweiser with ecstasy?

Apple pies with crack cocaine?

Soul Music with Rap?

Rock and Roll with authentic crap?

Nothing’s real on television, videos, films or comic books.

Heroes don’t wear capes or leotards.

Prayers don’t rise up to Superman, or to Avatars or Batman…

You’ve been moved against your will,

lied to, manipulated.

Who told you that guns don’t kill?

Well they gave me one when I went off to war! They didn’t give me a Frisbee!

They told you God was dead and you believed them…

But they knew the truth that God ain’t dead!

God is in charge…

You’re the sacrificial lamb of the XXI Century…

Take a deep breath…

COVID’s still around…

Funny how the terrorists disappeared when you had to wear a mask for two long years?

So I walk down 7th Avenue,

Manhattan’s home but home’s a fantasy, an illusion, a hologram…

And though this sidewalk burns with Augusts’ heat and Sabrett’s waiting for me down the street,

I’m still looking for answers to my questions…

+++++

I will admit it is a little long, but this is my response to all the madness I am seeing and hearing about that is going on in this world today. Although I am not from the US, I did live there for most of my life and served that country honestly and proudly. These words are said with love and consideration for all the good people of that wonderful nation which I love,

Francisc