In
Praise of the Seattle Coalition They
came from around the globe to change the shape of the globe They formed a
human chain and sidewalks declared their support They led labor down unpaved
roads and mountain ranges from all sides tipped
their peaks in salute They wore turtle caps and the Pacific roared its approval
They chanted This is what democracy looks like so that we who
could not
be in Seattle could watch TV & see what democracy looks like They called for
human rights and were gassed with inhuman chemicals They insisted the food
be kept clean of genetic experiment and were shot with
rubber bullet pellet red meat welts They demanded an end to worldwide sweatshops
and were treated to
the best nightsticks multinational business could buy It was a coalition for
the ages, of all ages, of all stages, of varying degrees of
calm and rages After curfew, the skies lit up & birds flew across continents
to celebrate Ancient redwood trees shook their leaves to prevent WTO delegates
from being
received The town salmon agreed to wear union windbreakers for the week When
the mayor outlawed public gasmasks, the air sucked up to help out It was the
audible applause of the quantum that drove the police chief mad A dog ran
across the road to dispose of pepper spray containers Stampeding cops were
stopped by dolphins swimming in mid-street I
saw this every hour on the hour behind the CNN lens In a thousand tongues,
even the internet logged on the side of the young O friends, you have jumpstarted
this nation and revealed an America with
a million human faces Of course the corporations were defeated, any objective
observer could
see they were outmatched from the opening bell Now come the subtle somersaults
and the internationalist flips Now the courageous maneuvers that follow a
win Now the flexible glue to keep a coalition together Now spreading the
fun so that more can participate Now there will be more democracy and then
even more democracy Now you are welcomed heroic at the dawn of a century
Eliot
Katz 12/99 NYC |