9.4 I Pledge Allegiance

by Eric Chaet

I pledge allegiance
to people doing good anywhere
near or far
great good or humble good
& opposition to people harming others
anywhere, here or far away
not just the fortunate
losers—so far—too
tho I have no patience for whining rationalization
to the confused, deluded, despised
who are trying to get clear
& become capable of making wholesome contributions
& to those who have got clear enough
to make useful contributions to humanity
whether anyone notices their use or not
rewarded or not, acclaimed or not
& to anyone who will interact with me in good faith—
but may those who’d put words in my mouth
& try to intimidate me
serve on committees forever
of people who have tricked them into sharing responsibility
for what they never did
without command of resources or authority
to change the way things are being done—
& to liberty & justice for all who are themselves just
&, while carefully discriminating
as kind as they can afford to be.