A Poem From My Colleague

Dignity

They attacked the building
an angry mob
bearing phones and axes.
'Devils," they cried,
'bandits. We've had enough'

As they beat down the doors
most of them wheezed
Their soft hands blistered
and bled and one by one
they dropped to their knees
in perfect pose
It'd play well on Facebook
at least
or the nightly news:
citizen uprising
people power
taxpayer revolt.

Meanwhile, barricaded inside,
the teachers drew their blinds.
The few bad ones cowered
under desks, but the rest
carried on with their work.
They'd learned to ignore
the circus outside
the taunts
the constant carping of
those who depict them as
selfish, lazy, inept-
who blame them for
society's ills
for the consequences
of poor parenting
of empty promises

'Teachers suck,' somebody
shouted from behind the
bright new bank. 'Fucking thieves.'

And the students snickered and
slouched deep into their seats.