and our poems like daily gossips
are carried through metropolises
so we drill ourselves in the ground
bloom into clod whiten into bones
we do not give words to the mouths
of plastic-wreathed cowards
the souls of the bells are not divine grace
are not cheap stuff like a garter
our heads are the earth itself
amphibious luxury cars
do not leave trails of slime on our oceans
behind bars
we walk in dignity
we walk and if necessary we swear
but we do not auction off the world
we do not bargain with men in leather jackets
we do not spit in the calyx of flowers
we do not spy on our dead