Our rights are never permanent
they sway to whims of economy
When all becomes automated
we may lose all autonomy
Resistance, sorrow, and pain
genetically stripped away
Barbaric cruelty normalized
throughout human history
Savage apes that harnessed
fire, charcoal, language
Spear tips tapping ribs
of those deemed lesser
Those who hold their tongues
bite down hard
Choking in rubiscent pools
segregated by unquestioning
Inquisitors; “Those who question
the now are heretics.” -we say
Codified rights propped upright
by strawman politicians,
Nobody will fight for you
except you
If you never fight then nobody will
accept you
James White is an American poet based in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. He is the author of “We Sleep On Oyster Beds” and currently works as an on the spot poet on Frenchmen Street in New Orleans.
