[An Original Poem] A Refrain to Occupiers Everywhere

Shreveport Occupy Protest 2011 photo by Monique Finley

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Gather in the streets, sweet, sweet children.

Don't weep, though you're angry.
Scream your rage at the system,
failed long before it got too big.

Demand back your government: They
hijack Acts like They can't hear the sounds
of suffering in Their own back yards.

Gather in the streets, sweet, sweet children.

Earmark Their compromises as pay-in-kind
to the fellows with enough dough to open
marshmallows in hell for weekend skiers.

"Earn it," They laugh, knowing the game is rigged.
They got the upper-hand backed in hard currency,
'cause They forced monopoly money on society.

Gather in the streets, sweet, sweet children.

Vilify what They don't understand:
Henley's End of the Innocence, what happens
when the innocent dotcom MeetUp?

Vagrants, labeled by mainstream media:
intellectuals take to the streets, helping
little old ladies march down Wall Street.

Gather in the streets, sweet, sweet children.

Interests plummet as chants of 99% pick up steam:
They start slinging shit in hopes of preventing
the rest of the masses from joining the uprisings.

Interestingly, more join daily, as cities all around
orchestrate mass sit-ins without govie permissions,
thereby demonstrating the power of civil disobedience.

Gather in the streets, sweet, sweet children.

Learn the lessons forgotten chasing profit,
the underlying failure of greed: the seed
of dissention that blooms graciously.

Leap to the front, take responsibility:
"We're in it for the long haul," we shout,
"we're in it for the people and the planet."

Gather in the streets, sweet, sweet children.

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A poem inspired by the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations and the global solidarity protests occurring in over 1600 cities. 15 October 2011 was a day of solidarity and global consciousness. This poem is an act in observation, take it how you will.

Five years later and though the height of the Occupy Movement seems to have passed, the problems that brought protestors to the streets have yet to be adequately addressed.

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