"a world without nuclear weapons"

People of Prague, first blessed
with news we
forgot was permitted to be
spoken aloud
by presidents,

How I wish that I
were of you,
face leaning forward into it,
eyes closed in the crowd,
that much closer to a news
that envelopes a weary
world in reason.

A lank man unfolds himself
on a dais
the words that need to be
said already resounded
inside him
reverberating
ten thousand faces willing the
words to unfurl themselves
from his grave lips,
from decades lost
when shrunken Real Men
convinced the people
that Peace was a sales gimmick,
and grew bloated on our despair
and our consent.

Oh that I were you, every one
of you, so that I could hear
the words from 10,000 angles, see
from every side the lank
man unfold
unafraid
to say what we’ve said or
whispered so long, displaying it
finally to the sun.

Dark blades rest restless
upturned in the earth,
rumor-fuelled,
rustling with omens;
radars respire in quiet, sifting
the clouds
for portents.

Oh people of Prague,
rapturous city where
reason rang forth –
I savor the news with you.
Preserve the days’ brightness
for me, within you,
there where a spare man
dared, and strode.

Should he forget that day, or buckle,
we millions of millions
of Prague’s children
will shout
to shiver the silos
and unnerve the radars.