- The Anthem Optimistic
It came out of nowhere like locusts,
Brandished teeth like axes
And set about in the night felling trees.
In the morning thousands lay grey and bereft.
But it discovered – to its horror –
That their roots were deeper than the seas.
As I sit on my bed trying to decide
If I have a fever or not,
I remind myself: IT is the mouse, I am actually the cat!
I simply cannot be conquered by things like that.
2. The Anthem Pessimistic (Aborted)
I wanted to write an anthem pessimistic
To appease all those who say “ah – this one – sancta simplicitas:
All splash no flood,
Too shallow a well for a thud,
All flesh no blood.”
I wanted to write about the meaning of all this for
Government,
Society,
Piety,
Propriety,
Public sanity,
All the “isms” that might save or kill us,
But probably more kill than save.
But I did have a fever and had nothing to say
About all of these just then,
Save: “Get the fuck out of the sinews of my right hand when it is holding a pen!
Get the hell away from the reigns to my freedom!
I write optimistic anthems – if you don’t like ‘em don’t read ‘em!”
Or better yet: Read them as a distant echo of a greeting from my clan to your clan.
But else, when the words are blowing all around me like hurricanes
For God’s sake! – don’t stick your fingers in the fan!
1/12/2022
Copyright © 2024 Anna Braverman