straight in the eye

what we did, they come home and look at us

straight in the eye
feeding us morsels of guilt, and asking us again

why?

we try to look at them straight in the eye too and we justify
ourselves, with

it was a necessity, the inevitable, and all with the face of the human
being
bones and flesh and hair and skin
with balls or no balls
will just do the same: kill to save oneself, the doctrine of self-defense,
that innate self which must preserve itself
and always ready to strike
when in danger, not even running, but keeping itself
unafraid, to stand firm and tall and
unmoved,

they all come today, like her chickens, but i see them all
snakes, and scorpions, and
even fire-breathing dragons and witches and
wolves and blood sucking leeches

i do not run, i keep myself composed to all these now,
i am ready, i have prepared myself,

if they ask for reason, i give them the reasons,
if they don't and they just stare, i too must stare without blinking
i am a brave man
i am an honest man
i harmed no one
and no one harms me now.

i am at home and if they, of the past, and today, live with me,
i always have the room to spare, and some padlocks too
and iron bars, and air tight spaces

RIC S. BASTASA

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/all-that-matters-simply-come-home-and-look-at-us/