Steven Schroeder | Revolutionary Patience
Three sparrows and I
celebrate the day
before Bastille Day
on the sidewalk
outside a French bakery
with conspiratorial glances
as I sip Brazilian coffee
and slip the smallest ones
bits of French pastry.
I ignore pigeons
who crowd out smaller birds
and posture shamelessly,
reward the little ones
for hanging back, though I
suppose it would be
more in keeping with
the occasion to teach them
to storm the ramparts
of notorious prisons
and stand up to pigeons.
I like to think
they are learning to bide their
time, cultivating revolutionary
patience. But these sparrows are
so well fed I fear they would mourn
the passing of the ancien regime, scorn
gaunt revolutionaries with hungry eyes,
nod assent to stories of pampered queens
who admonish the poor to eat cake
when there is no bread.
from Revolutionary Patience. virtual artists collective | 2004
