Garrison

In walls we find comfort:
Even the softly swaying opalescent
Cloth partitition draped between beds
In a ward, as in some comic
Gable and Colbert flick,
Gives us some solace
Barricading sight, if not sound,
Dignity, if not security:
The grey woman in the wheelchair
Clutches her purse over her bare knees
— draw the curtain.

So we huddle behind walls
Secure in our ignorance
While something monstrous happens
Out of sight outside the partitions:
One sneaks bags of gold,
Another diamonds, art, significant organs;
All out of sight off site into the night,
Only to apologize red-faced red-handed
Red-assed when caught and brought in
— draw the curtain.

Outside the walls, someone will
Pasteurize the sunset,
Making lovely muddy hues
We will all love;
Soon Munich, Taj Mahal, Montreal
And MyHomeTown will trade places
And no one will notice behind the walls
— draw the curtain.