we have to bank the snowmelt from the sierra nevadas
to live here in the summer, when all that was green
turns brown and dies baking under endless blue
so that on a day like today, when people in minneapolis
are deciding how many layers are needed to avoid frostbite
we sit at an outside table, under an umbrella
trying not to get too much sun
i grew up in a small town near here
where you either raised cattle
or designed nuclear weapons
there was only one african american in my school
and we thought we were living in doctor king's dream
because we didn't treat him any differently
except when i came back after my first year at college
he was bagging groceries
and i was designing computer software
which seemed abstractly mysterious at the time
we speak of sustainability
and social responsibility
over a latte
which is ok
because the cup is recycled
and the coffee grower
is slightly less exploited
than he was 10 years ago
but still required to grow our coffee
not welcome to sit and sip with us
as we dispense our generous consumption
our lives washed and awash in indulgences
offered to well meaning middlemen
who tell us our carbon sins
and chocolate transgressions
are forgiven
so thoughtful and creative
on this silky smooth tablet computer
made in china where they are so eager and obliging
to grind their children into glass
which covers the lcd display
slide the simulated latch left
all the power now at our fingertips
yeah baby, we are the dreamers
fingers unstained by the chemicals needed
to make our dreams come true
that is how we roll
bouncing our heads with the stereo earbuds
blocking out all distractions
while we unwrap our turkey sandwich
at this point in the poem
you are wondering
whether this is the unexpected turn—
the warm sun of winter
and the occasional gentle rain
coaxing carpet verdant
from brown possibility?
so am i my friend
so am i
it is january in the california desert
where the first people to find this place
who knew how to find happiness without
a vast system of aqueducts and reservoirs
abstractly and mysteriously vanished
to make room for us to complain about
the illegal latino
trying to steal jobs that are rightfully ours
which is outrageous
because our empire
beat theirs in a fair fight
i say all of this
not to earn your admiration
or to atone for the swath of injustice that leads
like a trail of bloody breadcrumbs
to this place
i say it because
it is
and what ever comes next
the something better which we all want
has to start here