A Solitary Demonstrator Poem by shimon weinroth

behold she stands alone in the street,
there she is, this single protester
standing with her placard and chanting
slogans, and her outraged thoughts
sings with fierce force of voice,
her right to be heard,

if she is alone and solitary, her
cause must be frivolous whimsical,
are there no other champions to join,
yet her voice carries over the roof tops
and the walls hear her anger, and the streets,
the sorrow and melancholy of the children

they are hungry, the bottomless pit of
fear and want, have beseeched their thin bodies
and weak frames, she does not cry for alms
for handouts and food stamps, she cries
for employment and fair wages in the 21st
is there no one to join the solitary protester,

the government shrugs and
even patrons have disappeared
still she stands, till a police wagon
give her a citation and warn
protesting is illegal without a license,
carries her off, leaving the children
at the curb

where did we go wrong,
saying, the setup up is to blame
and the profiteers, doesn't fill the stomach
or stop the tears