Resistance, or
We Don't Need Another Hero
No.
Stop waiting!
This dream is a lie, though
also seductive, sedating.
We don't want a hero.
It's time to quit equating
salvation with other:
Save yourself, sister, brother!
But won't I then, you ask,
become champion of my own
life, self-interest battling without a mask,
defending with word and bone
the line I decline to task
to protagonist unknown?
You won't. You can't.
Self-rescue's repute is scant.
Villainy thrives on fear,
inattention, apathy.
Whom you invite shall inevitably appear
to feed on your hesitation or sympathy
and take the leave you've given to interfere
until you cure your moral neuropathy.
Stand up! Speak out! Don't trust this
white-hatted stranger to deliver justice.
All poems are written and copyrighted by Michael C. Rush.
None may be republished or repurposed without permission.