the paid protesters

my neighbor

with blue hair and a nose

ring,

which has rusted because 

of all the crying,

is leaving her house early

this morning

with her

bullhorn

and cowbell.

another protest today?

yes, she says,

we must band together to

stop

fascism.

plus the organizers

are getting

paid.

so i'm an organizer now.

i help bus

the protesters in

and give

them factory made signs.

i tell them what

to chant but it's so hard to find

words that rhyme

with fascism.

so what exactly is fascism?

oh you know

having a dictator

bossing people

around.

taking away their rights

and stuff.

i haven't looked it up exactly.

so what rights?

oh you know. reproductive

rights.

but aren't you 60 years old?

didn't mother nature take that

right away from you?

what other rights?

look, i have to go in a minute

after i run back

into the house to get my meds.

i can't protest

without my meds.