All week

The Olive Trees, Vincent Van Gogh, 1889.

 

All week

 

While working

While walking

While washing the dishes

 

I think of the horrors I’ve seen on the screen

It is a honor to bear witness

And also a burden

The weight of watching is a heavy hand on my heart

 

While working

While walking

While washing the dishes

 

I remember it’s a privilege to know what’s going on

To understand the extent of the powers

That push their people to go on spending and celebrating

While others are held in constant hunger and terror

 

While working

While walking

While washing the dishes

 

I imagine my own body

Tumbling from an excavator bucket

Bodies one atop another

Handled as bulk material

 

While working

While walking

While washing the dishes

 

I imagine the sky outside my window

Lighting up red

The way we’ve been shown

It happens before a strike

 

While working

While walking

While washing the dishes

 

I imagine losing every one I love

Not knowing whether they are truly lost or not yet found

I imagine the world watching

I’d probably wonder if they’re really listening

 

While working

While walking

While washing the dishes

 

I am walking

And waiting

And washing the dishes

And wishing everyone could do just that