Month of Poetry #8: Dystopia

saying nothing does not make us safe
saying everything does not make us safe

doing nothing, the green planet curls up its fronds 
doing everything does not seem like a possibility

in every generation, catastrophe, yes -
also the fear, always, that
this existential crisis has deeper claws

It's not God vs The Mind
It's not Wall Street vs Occupy
It's not Big Oil vs The Climate
It's not the Internet vs The Human Soul
It's not Freedom vs Control

It's all and none of those, and any other contrapuntal pairing
you might care to make, as a pattern-seeking mammal

the curse goes like this: may you live in interesting times
the good fairy's sad blessing, whispered, in weak response -
may you survive them -

- Kathy, 8/1/15