For Aung San Suu Kyi

Loving humans 
is tricky 
sometimes 
a slap 
in the face 
is all you get 
for doing it 
just right. 

Loving humans is a job 
like any other 
only 
more 
bumps 
on the way 
to work 
which is full on 
all the time. 

Loving humans 
makes us 
want 
to invite 
ourselves to tea 
with rancid 
dictators 
we think we 
can convince 
of our 
story’s side 
while all 
they think 
about 
while 
we sit & dream 
is how 
they can 
get away 
with 
poisoning 
our tea. 

and how 
if only they 
had 
enough tea 
already 
brewed 
they could 
waterboard us 
to death 
with it. 

Loving humans 
means 
writing poems & songs 
novels & plays, slogans, chants 
& protest signs 
our critics 
want 
to stone 
us for 
while 
we think of 
them 
as people 
under different 
circumstances 
we might 
be able 
to help. 

There is 
indeed 
a Buddha 
in 
every one 
of us 
loving humans 
with all 
our clear & 
unmistakable 
reluctance 
to evolve 
makes this hard 
for most humans 
to see. 

But not you.