From the other chair
I raise my fist and shout
But you,
seduced by the orange glow
And the warmth of the crackling fire
Remain unmoved
Refusing to acknowledge
That which you say you cannot see
Invisible,
Like dust in the air
And you, without a light to shine
When you finally speak
It is only to state the obvious
That you are oblivious
To the black birds just outside the window
pecking at the frozen ground
To the forgotten flowers from the summer garden
Now hiding underground, dormant bulbs
Waiting for the climate to change
And for the sun to shine once again
Staring into the mirror that catches and multiplies your reflection,
you recite your reasons why
But this was never about the price of heating oil or topsoil
Or about fracking or cyber-hacking
It was not about borders or Walz
Or the light to choose or the right to refuse
It was about longed for saviors and those who looked the other way
About chances and choices for the unchosen
And about those who secretly dared wonder
has the day has finally come,
when I will be the fire itself
Instead of the moth drawing ever closer to the flame
As the darkness descends
And I turn to look at you once more
From the shore of the other chair
So close I could touch you
Yet so far, I could never reach
For something as simple as the price of bread,
The question is not why did you
But how could you?