When I Watch

When I watch TV and listen to the news,
I’m jealous.
When I watch them strong, united,
I want to put on a head scarf and
live in a makeshift tent in a square.
When I watch the wounded,
I wish I could face down a rubber bullet or two
Armed with witty signs and
the warmth of a hundred thousand neighbors.
When I watch goliaths fall
I want to stand up against an oppressive regime.
I wish I could relay my outrage
in 140 character machine gun bursts.
Pictures posted to the web at speed of anger
So they could watch me

because I watch the news and
know I’m already dodging rhetorical bullets.
I run from my car to my classroom
because someone out there has
drawn a target on my back.
Without my knowing, I’ve been dubbed enemy #1
with my students the casualties,
the unnamed masses
who will be caught in this political crossfire.

I wish I could save you,
I wish I could whisk you away
to a shelter where I would equip you
for the hardships you will face,
equip you with bandoliers of knowledge and stockpiles of love
but there are too many of you to gather into my arms,
and my empty coffers toll a solemn knell.
But I march on;
I will do all that I can with that which I am given.

Tomorrow, when I watch TV and listen to the news,
I’ll be hopeful.
I’ll hope that someday I will wake up and
hear a new headline,
see a new future, and
feel the hand of a country
lifting us towards tomorrow...
That day, I’ll pack up my tent, set aside my sign
and go home to fight a new battle.