if the government will not protect us, we must protect each other
if the government will not love us, we must love one another
if the rabbit in the brush is hit by your car on the Nevada highway, we must say prayer for the dead while we drive
if the music does not strike your heart, we must strike our hearts against one another until they spark a flame
if the food does not taste the same as it did yesterday, we must throw it out
if the ballot box does not listen, we must smash the ballot box
if the sanctuary turns rotten and the milk curdles, we must throw the milk to the night and build a new sanctuary
if the engine runs out of gas on the road, we must walk to the next town with the small gas station and argue with the attendant until he concedes begrudgingly in this case to sell us gas straight to a water gallon bottle that we buy at the corner store
if the love feels dry, we must abandon it
if the bed cannot offer sleep, we must abandon it
if the bike pedal clicks, we must abandon it
if the family member at thanksgiving brings up the ineffectiveness of political dissidence one more time, we must leave the thanksgiving table and walk into the lake god damn it
if the phone number leads to a dead line, we must stop calling it, even if it feels natural to do so
if the American experiment fails, we must abandon it
if the American experiment still has hope in it, we must multiply that hope
if the high school best friend speaks of fascism like a love returning from abroad, we must abandon the high school best friend and understand that they are for now lost, lovesick with destruction
if the government will not feed us, we must throw dinners for the entire block and invite everyone
if the police will not protect us, we must protect each other
if the police will, we must not
if the police write poetry, we will write louder poetry
if the police sing songs, we will sing louder songs
if the police create paintings, we will paint louder and with more colors
if this is the end, we must will it not to be so
if this is not the end, we must continue
-Dante Douglas
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