# Oh, These Wires We Place
**by Joanie Roberts**

**Prologue**
One bell rings
Where angels wept
Shoulder to shoulder
We came together
To show no fear

**Story Told**
I pick up
and easily throw
upon my shoulders
a long white jacket of
patchwork squares
built from bendable wires

Just enough to slip on
over my coat ~
I imagine my plight

I freely
put on this ~ metal jacket
because
I was left with
no way out

but now I find
it only opens one-way
has no key
no escape
I am locked here
inside this ~ my gated life

I am suppose to
survive
this mountain climb
by just daily living
and fighting the good fight

In this system
where lies and misinformation
shadow box each other
for the prime spot
in our nation’s news

Oh ~ these wires we place
with unhinged malice
escaping any willing action

**Call to Action**
Now, if only now
hearing the calls of our children
somehow shouldn’t we agree ~

To dare to imagine
a different path
chosen
once
and at the same time
safe
and
free?