Silence Is Violence Poem by gary polonsky

"Silence is Violence",
I didn't make it up,
The sign was held in silence,
A metaphor's pre-nup
For a better kind of marriage,
‎Before the White House lawn,
Nothing to disparage,
Hope for a new dawn.

The White House' lumber -
A symbol all can see,
Constructed by the number‎
One-Two-Three,
For that was it, no rounder,
‎The slaves, strong and able,
Whom Washington the Founder
Collared in his stable.

I could go on and on
But really, what's the point?
It's known by everyone -
Mold infests the joint.
Can there be a healing?
For sure, we have to hope,
For it to be revealing
Though, we must scale the slope.

The slope of education,
The slopes of health and law‎s,
Of reconciliation,
Of clinging to the cause,
The slopes of so much more,
Like ‎housing and neglect,
But the slope that's at the core
Is our love and our respect.

Do we have it in us?
Most do but not all,
Too many hearts are puss
Who revel in their gall.
If they could keep their mouth shut
While the good step up their dance,
We may gurgitate our gut
And Give Peace a Chance.


Written in Ontario, Canada - 8th June 2020