T A P W A T E R Poem by Nisa West

We drink water

from the tap—

as if we’re not at war,

swim around

The Gulf Coast

Soldiers negotiate realms

begging for somewhere

to escape

America

Tea Partiers

tongues Burgundy

hollering at uniforms

and guns.

Our unarmed

silence outraged

at what’s been done,

One in ten employed

and John Boehner’s lungs

burn as he remains

stuck

unharmed,

Wall Street soared

with indexes

reaching high

Scattering

Illuminati.