After the Election

to my progressive friends in america:

if you’d like to experience spiritual attainment,
here's my recipe:
lie awake all night,
brain conjuring fresh horrors
of what could be, of the things they can take from us
greet the thin necks of every environmental protection law,  every law that was ever meant to protect anyone
glistening in the sun
while the executioner paces the yard, sharpening,
wondering where to make the first cut

this exercise may take a long time
if you know too much

if you like sleeping
then i’m not sure i can recommend this practice
except that the tibetans say to meditate,
every day of your life,
on all the ways you could die.
it clarifies your purpose.
so that you may truly live

feel it all now
for numbness is non-specific;
if you build a dam against the river of grief,
it will also block you
from the joy for what you love
and there is still a lot of loving
we need to do

that's one thing they can never take.

connect with what feeds you
connect with your purpose
which has not changed

ask to be shown how you will serve
ask where the skills are that you need to embody
ask what you would put your tender magnificence
on the line for

for we are going to need to be
a lot stronger than we thought,
a lot sooner than we thought.