The peaceful transfer of power
We all watched it happen: the shaking of hands, the sitting through ceremony,
hands on Bibles. Peaceful Transfer
of power.
To witness the immediate consolidation
and abuse
of power.
To stomach the legislative complicity of
that abuse of
peacefully transferred power.
If this is where we are after 10 days,
where are we likely to be in 100 days?
I am told not to despair,
that we will fight back. Yes.
But all that power we handed over,
so peacefully
Is being used to frighten, silence and beat
us all.
If you think this is not you,
just wait.
Unless you belong to someone in that room
applauding each fresh signature of doom,
don’t believe that this won’t catch you
someday.
People will bow to authority before they recall
their humanity and
acknowledge yours.
Each of us has power and often we hand it over
because we trust,
we have faith,
we believe
that others mean us no harm.
What we forget is how poorly
we understand harm when it is not us
but our neighbor,
our colleague,
the guy across the street, city, county, country
whose livelihood, dignity, existence
is at stake.
‘No harm done’ we say so easily
because we followed protocol
when it came time.
We witnessed the peaceful transfer
of power.
Laws will be broken.
Orders will be given.
People will suffer. Always.
And that room of self-satisfied men
will know
That they got the power cheap at a
fake news rummage sale.
And they will hoard it and flaunt it
and use it against us,
because we gave it to them,
we handed it to them through
our quirky institutions and unspoken appetite
for criminal political theater.
The power they got peacefully handed over
will be the instrument of our undoing.
It already is.
edifiedlistener 
Your poetic wisdom brings to mind the famous phrase of Martin Niemoller (1892-1984): First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists (and I did not speak out because I was not a Trade Unionists). Then they came for the Jews (and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew). Then they came for me (and there was no one left to speak for me).
You are modeling how to be a voice for justice and humanity. If we can be that and more, we should.
Uncle Thad
P.S. There is the ironic coincidence that Pastor Niemoller died in 1984, the same year of the book title by George Orwell. Now to search for those alternative facts that are not lies.
DANG! This is so… prescient? aware? At the time, I remember being nervous but certain that our institutions would stop him, that those others would stand up to him, that… something. Instead, I realize that I was so busy focusing on peaceful transfer that I forgot about power. Thank you for bringing this back to our attention now.
Oh Amanda, I wish I could have been wrong but even I was stunned at how many of these things came to pass in these years since Jan 2017. This is a hard knock backwards to be sure. We’ll recover but it’s a tall order. I hope you are well, friend. Take care.