Waking Nightmare
DREAMING A WALL
by Richard Blanco
He hates his neighbors’ flowers, claims his
are redder, bluer, whiter than theirs, believes
his bees work harder, his soil richer, blacker.
He hears birds sing sweeter in his trees, taller
and fuller, too, but not enough to screen out
the nameless faces next door that he calls
liars, thieves who’d steal his juicier fruit, kill
for his wetter rain and brighter sun. He keeps
a steely eye on them, mocks the too cheery
colors of their homes, too small and too close
to his own, painted white, with room to spare.
He curses the giggles of their children always
barefoot in the yard, chasing their yappy dogs.
He wishes them dead. Closes his blinds. Refuses
to let light from their windows pollute his eyes
with their lives. Denies their silhouettes dining
at the kitchen table, laughing in the living room,
the goodnight kisses through every bedroom.
Slouched in his couch, grumbling over the news
he dismisses as fake, he changes the channel
to an old cowboy Western. Amid the clamor
of gunshots he dozes off thinking of his dream
where he stakes a line between him and all
his neighbors, stabs the ground as he would
their chests. Forms a footing cast in blood-red
earth, bends steel bars as he would their bones
with his bare fists and buries them in concrete.
Mortar mixed thick with anger, each brick laid
heavy with revenge, he smiles as he finishes
the last course high enough to imagine them
more miserable and lonely than him alone
inside his wall, worshiping his greener lawn,
breathing his fresher air, under his bluer, bluer sky.
I imagined a country ruled by cartel of “noble” houses. The cartel owns the country, and by extension the people. Though these centers of power would never use such old fashioned language to describe their role. They favor the current idiom, asset management (billions), ROI return on investment– the jargon of financial flows. Everything is economized. The noble houses are managed by, or perhaps they manage the great lord, who lives in the capital city on the east coast. The power relationship is unclear; seeming to shift with the last twitter proclamation. The pronouncements of the media also shift the reins of power, opining 24×7 upon the great lords moods, his latest campaign spectacle. The people, the workers are canopied under an informal voluntary surveillance net encompassing every waking hour. They are willing, obedient subjects of this communications protocol in exchange for the entertainment, and the pleasure of 24×7 shopping with next day delivery. They imagine that they are free. In truth they are propagandized serfs, consumers, behaviors controlled, emotions aroused by images tailored according to their social media posts and purchases, stored in vast server farms.
In my waking dream I heard news of an award that to be conferred, a prize similar to the old Nobel Prize in prestige. The award is designated The Hatred Of Humanity Award. It is to be presented by the recipient of the award to himself. Who else would be qualified, be allowed to pass judgment upon the recipient’s infinite rage, the endless antipathy expressed by his policies, his willful acts to degrade justice, to take away citizen well-being, to oppress any person or group, that unaccountably attracts his attention?
In my imagined future, on the day of the self-presentation by the award winner, many of us shared copies, and read secretly this old poem by Richard Blanco.
I have highlighted in orange, phrases that particularly speak to me. Which lines would you highlight?
Richard Blanco (born February 15, 1968) is an American poet, public speaker, author and civil engineer. He is the fifth poet to read at a United States presidential inauguration, having read the poem “One Today” for Barack Obama’s second inauguration. He is the first immigrant, the first Latino, the first openly gay person and the youngest person to be the U.S. inaugural poet. This poet continues his journey and wrote other books such as How to Love a Country.
The poem, DREAMING A WALL, is taken from How to Love a Country.
2 thoughts on “Waking Nightmare”
“I imagined a country ruled by cartel of ‘noble’ houses. The cartel owns the country, and by extension the people.” Does this take such a stretch of the imagination? Governance by the Silverbacks has been the prevailing model since before the development of agriculture. The innovation of property rights and hereditary monarchy brought stability and orderly transition, more or less successfully. Choice is an overrated virtue, only bringing strife. Nearly half the population in our Land of the Free –at least the half who care or convince themselves they have some ability to affect their lives, are completely happy in paying homage to their “Betters,”; The Innovators, Job Creators, Captains of Industry, Elders of the Church, Source of That which Trickles Down.
Perhaps, and I’m only commenting here using the extreme hypothetical; instead of continuing failure in shoveling back the tide, should be embrace the inevitable? Trust that all of our daily needs will be delivered, from Amazon and Walmart? Gratefully accept our health from Humana and Pfizer? Our homes from JP Morgan? In turn, we grant Jeff Bezos and Jamie Dimon total sovereignty, and our complete loyalty, in perpetuity. Is it possible to strengthen the noblesse oblige of this system while avoiding the greatest ill-effects?
To start a short list:
Hereditary monarchs, perhaps through an inbred desire to keep everything in the family, eventually have stupid children. Will this naturally correct itself once the ruling families become secure in their positions?
The belief that any amount of huge wealth is never enough, even though the truly wealthy can never spend all they already have. Is this also a result of monarch insecurity?
Endless war; particularly war using a civilian conscripted army, fought on civilian land, using weapons of mass destruction. Can everyone not see this is to no ones’ best benefit? In a globalized economy, based on fair trade rather than plunder, does quite so much wealth need to flow to the Military/Industrial Complex?
Stagnating innovation, due to a desire to maintain a precarious status quo, and live off easy rents and interest. Advancement in art and science did happen during Renaissance patronage.
Tendency to ignore or deny anything which will adversely affect next quarter’s bottom line –as if some folks will have immunity from pandemics or climate change.
Forced permanent slavery, often by those taken from their homes in battle. [This is opposed to voluntary slaves, often taken from their homes through debt.] Is the Myth of the Happy Slave, with a chance for upward mobility, possible?
Some monarchs, simply because they can, enjoy cruelty. [Indeed, some employers, and large portions of the Republican Party, enjoy being cruel, simply because they can.] This aspect of absolute power corrupting seems lacking any easy answer.
I would guess others can come up with additional challenges.
strengthen the noblesse oblige of this system…..
What a interesting idea. Not sure what one could or would do to “strengthen.” Perhaps we can pray to any gods that might be, that they will foster any sense of obligation to the common good.
There will be challenges aplenty. Like riding out a hurricane, just hunker down, keep a low profile, and hope that one is not taken out by the flying debris.