(August 2016)
In the spirit of peace
Patrick Henry once cried:
“Give me liberty or give me death!”
In the spirit of peace
he was eventually granted his request.
How true it is—wonders
never seem to cease.
Where there’s peace
there’s no need for protest.
There’s no instant
in this country’s history
where it has peacefully gone war
but consistently waged war
in the name of peace.
It is said that history
can’t be changed—repeated maybe—
emphatically teaching its lessons:
“Give me liberty or give me death!” So be it!
“No justice, no peace!” So be it!
So has it been in the history of protest:
peaceful protest by the oppressed
has always been responded to
with peaceful violence by the oppressors.
Nowhere in history
has protestation between the oppressed
and the oppressor
ever ended peacefully.
Today, when the angered oppressed
come face to face
with combat-ready oppressors
peaceful protest ceases to be
a viable strategy—least we too
desire the fate of Patrick Henry.