unflexible calm, slightly ironical
given the memory of righteous tumult
that hangs in the sweaty air.
here, the potomac purrs over rocks
that breathe the essence
of the saint with the moses locks,
these images instantly animated:
stern brickwall spirit of a warrior
with the grace of a cornered fox,
dutiful duo of hardy hands
chafed by the stigmata of stocks,
broad dynamite grin causing
the ponderous stormfront
that must hover
to run for celestial cover.
there, hangs john brown's body,
sturdy even in those moments
of tactless suspension, dagger eyes
alight with the three-alarm fire
of divinely-ordained mission.
here, hangs john brown's body,
convenient fodder
for injustice's gallow.
tis' very easy to terminate
when morality is shallow,
elementary to murder
when compassion is trite.
our collective apathy was the real hangman
-his sacrifice a lone blinking light.
