qasida for a public meeting

at a public meeting in the county,
people fill the cracks between
the lightning bursts of agreement
or inspiration with murmurs.
they are soft and comfortable, often 
like mac-and-cheese – but mostly
harsh and char-burned: either
hard to stomach in quantity.
but look, you can make space
for yourself in here somewhere!
you can choose what pleases you
and the company that feeds you.
or ... you can duck and run. its just -
the casual or the civil is hard
to maintain; the thrilling - a wreck
in process. but you get to decide.
embracing the impossible-to-avoid
may be a virtue – or it may not.
you see, attachment to detachment -
complicates things. temperatures rise.
human beings: all the rattle, the bang.
his thunder/her echo: and wait for it,
just there, cooling on the counter–
a tepid cup of coffee-flavored tea.

news from a small town 24, May 2011