There’s a blockade starving Gaza

There’s a glitch on your timeline

Depending on your algorithm 

Everything is either burning or maybe all is fine

I watch the young play college football

As ICE stalks outside where they play

From the seat I’m sitting in

It all seems a world away

6,000 miles from Gaza

800 from the football game

In measuring all the suffering

Maybe all distances are the same

Can you hold on to what you love

Are you part of us or them

What will they allow you to keep

When they calculate the sum

Of what your worth based on the parts

Of acceptable DNA you contain

Of your pigment percents

Of your gender preferences 

Of what you view as sane

Is the cookout winding down

Are there hotdogs left on the grill

Do you have a headache from the day

Should you take a headache pill

You have tomorrow off

Tuesdays coming up soon

You gotta keep on working 

Putting out off your mind what looms

Gene G. McLaughlin 2025