Thoughts about the Obama presidency and the dearth – not the death – of activism. Time to wake up!
CHANGE 2009
He stood to take the oath of office
Both the white guy and the biracial guy blew the oath
but an Asian cellist became a rock star that day
Miles of humanity surrounded the Capitol
Standing as one and chanting,
“Yes we can! Yes we can!”
Now, a year later, half are disillusioned and
too damned lazy to call their legislators or take action
They should have been shouting, “Yes HE can!”
He can’t do it alone
The road to change is long, deeply furrowed and
littered with sharp stones (lest you cut your foot)
Change doesn’t come from a place of comfort
especially your own smug armchair in front of a plasma TV
Change comes hard. Raise your voices. Get off your asses.
YES. WE. CAN.
© 2010 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Sharp Little Pencil 
Mary
I agree that change comes hard. There seem to be so many forces puling in different directions right now that it is hard to move forward. Hopefuly this will CHANGE.
http://inthecornerofmyeye.blogspot.com/2010/06/no-change.html
1sojournal
Like this a lot, especially the last couple of verses. Change isn’t easy and never comes without cost.
Elizabeth
Stan Ski
Take ownership – make it happen.
Sharp Little Pencil
From your lips to complainers’ ears, Stan. People think that joining a disapproving group on Facebook means they have taken political action. I keep posting links to congressional contacts, etc., but usually in vain. I was raised to be a civil rights activist, so I have them all on speed dial!
Diane Truswell
Change never comes as easily as people think it might during political campaigns.
http://troublebeingstrong.blogspot.com/2010/06/if-i-could.html
Sharp Little Pencil
True dat! I’m tempted, sorely tempted, to vote out ALL incumbents regardless of track record, simply because they are all so entrenched in the Fast Lane and big money… oh, don’t get me started!!
Change is hard to begin with… but when you invest time, energy, and small currency in a campaign, you can sometimes become disillusioned when things don’t turn out right. As an activist, I’ve learned that small, attainable goals are what we shoot for. But a presidency? What small goals are there, really, right?
brenda w
Deeply furrowed, indeed. Thank you for your political pieces, Amy. You often mirror my thoughts. I deeply appreciate your candor and your voice.
~Brenda
Sharp Little Pencil
I feel the same. One of these days, we’ll have a cappuccino and trash politicians and other public figures!!
Gemma@Greyscale
Change can be like a dare to jump an abyss! It’s so easy to fall along the way but not so easy to take the right leap of faith!
Changnoi
As they think we say here, in Thailand – same same but different.
Sharp Little Pencil
Yes, America has that one too, but it’s a bit ruder: SSDD, or “same sh**, different day! Thanks for an international perspective!
mypoeticlicense
Oh, Amy! I love it. It frustrates the hell out of me, the many that rallied around Obama during election and now are changing their opinion of his capabilities, disappointed in all he hasn’t done. Or those that opposed him from the beginning, now either angry or smug, that he’s “dropping the ball”. He’s one man, doing a ridiculously tough job and working uphill nearly all the way….he needs our support, and assistance, in making OUR lives better.
Outstanding poem.
– Dina
Sharp Little Pencil
Dina, I truly appreciate your sentiments. It’s hard to get political in poetry without raising some hackles, but it’s the same case with my activism. Hell, I’m as busy making phone calls to our Big Oil and Big Pharma-rich senators and congressmembers than I was during the Bush years. A lot of the knocks against him, in my opinion, are discomfort in general with having a biracial man in the White House.
And, even if they WERE playing to a pre-taped track, Yo-yo Ma IS a rock star!!! Thanks so much, Dina. Amy
Mr. Walker
My brow is deeply furrowed. You touched a nerve. That great feel-good moment (with Yo-Yo Ma, cellist rock star) serves as a reminder, and a slap in the face, that change takes work. Thanks!
Sharp Little Pencil
Thank YOU, Mr. Walker. Mr. Skywalker. (Or are you The Phantom?) That I touched a nerve is the highest praise I could receive, as activist and poet. I appreciate the thought you put into your comment.
uponthewingsofnight
Very sharp, pointed commentary in your poem, Amy. Just a small piece of trivia…my niece Garnette has played cello onstage with Yo-Yo Ma.
Sharp Little Pencil
Go on! Yo Mama! Really? My God, that is one amazing bullet point for her little resume, eh? Great comment, man. Amy
uponthewingsofnight
Sadly, my niece no longer plays cello in the Minnesota State Orchestra. She is now married and has twin boys. Also, she has MS, which was quite the shock to me and the family to hear that. Brett
Sharp Little Pencil
I have a friend with MS, and it’s no picnic. Like a bullet that zigzags on any particular day. My friend’s worst symptom was feeling like she was walking through cobwebs all the time, plus the occasional need of a wheelchair. Sorry about your niece, Brett, truly. Amy