This short poem by Mack Johnson was published on page 5 of the January 2022 newsletter of the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action (www.gzcenter.org), which is located next to the Trident nuclear submarine base — the largest number of nuclear weapons anywhere in the Western Hemisphere.  Mack Johnson is a retired school teacher and an active volunteer at Ground Zero.

 

How Dare You

 

How dare you prepare to blow up the world?

How dare you give people jobs that destroy life instead of building it?

How dare you think that security comes from killing instead of loving?

 

How dare we look away from the specter of a mushroom cloud?

How dare we allow our leaders to spend our taxes on death?

How dare we put off screaming, “ENOUGH!”?

 

How dare I believe in love, in light, in this beautiful planet, and do nothing?

How dare I not walk my talk?