They, if Not Them, Who Then?

Why did they bob the bull dog’s tail?

Why did they braid the horses mane?

Why do they raise their pinky finger

each time they sip from a cup or glass?

Why did they decide to run the marathon

or launch the country into war? It was

they who raised the taxes, they who voted

to take your healthcare away. It was they

in the majority who decided to do what

they did. They say we must chose to use

the most appropriate pronoun which applies.

One day shall they become one alongside

you and me? It is they who are questionable,

you see, they whom you simply refuse to

believe. Is it a generality, they, a catch-all

for the other we chose to use? Are they the

ones responsible for doing that which you

and I have either refused or are unable to do?

When the finger is pointed in our direction,

it will be they who shall blame us for the

mischief and malfeasance. In the interest

of uniformity, it has been determined more

specifically, one day they shall become one

with you and me. Can’t you see, it’s a matter

of objective relativity? They, they, they, you

and I and they—We are all the same—Ashes

to ashes, you know. There is no other way.

Chris Hanch 8-31-18