BURN DOWN THE WHITE HOUSE
AGAIN
send all evils running with their pants on fire
Holocaust deniers beware
the injuns are coming

STOP THE WORLD I WANT TO GET OFF
once said a wise man
he saw the children playing
laughing and running
dreaming, imagining, creating
but the wise man saw the humans coming
he saw how they embraced war, torture, violence
he saw how they dismembered and gassed and maimed
and he begged to get off this world
as he cried, a little bird sat on his head
and said 'take me with you'
there is no happy ending to this story

I remember when i was a little girl
someone taught me
WAR IS BAD
but we are 'right'
then i skipped and hopped through life
hearing of atrocities far far away
and i kept thinking
WAR IS BAD
'but we are right'
and then i grew up in the cold war
i didn't even really know what that meant
except that it was colder in russia than in canada
and we were better at hockey
and when i realized...
i cried
wrote really dark poetry about the end of the world
and burned it
i knew for a fact then
that
WAR IS BAD
and maybe we are not right
i discovered feminism and academia and poetry
and i affirmed
WAR IS BAD
i had children
three beautiful, brilliant incredible children
i did that!
i realized my power, my strength, my resolve
to remind humanity
WAR IS BAD
so now that is my mission, my drive, my passion
to rid the world of war
to find peace in another place
to smash the patriarchy that oppresses
to live and love in peace

Dear United States of America
I have loved you
I have loved your beautiful gifts
Of scenic beauty
Of playgrounds and fantasy lands
Of diversity
Of constant tension
As a child I longed for what you had
that I did not
First to get the new candybar, cool shoes, cheap booze
(well that's what my parents liked)
In convenience stores!!
Tiger Fuckin Stadium!!!
ICE COLD PEPSI!
I remember long road trips, my dad driving
abba playing
my mom singing along
dog snoozing in the back window
warm summer breeze
sailing through customs with a wave and a smile
birth certificates, not passports
my dog didn't even want to kill anyone
and on our way home, as i drifted in and out of dreamland
i would think about the fun we had that day
we'd roll into our gravel drive
the sound like a melody for me
my dad would carry us into bed, tuck us in
and i would disappear into the night

we can have that again
all that and more
we can take down the walls
we can tear down the barriers
we can all see and be seen
we are not what we think we are
we are the people we have been waiting for