What They Say To What We Are Doing.... Poem by RIC BASTASA

to straighten the
bone of a hunchback
to mend the lips of
the hare
to pull and put broken
knee
to rub and clean
and make shiny an old
ebony
to right a wrong
to sew a tattered piece
to cut the trees and
make a road
to put in place
a shattered glass

to walk in there again
to drink and think and
be righteous
what the heck are we
doing?

they say, we are killing
ourselves
they say, we are giving
away lives.