Maximus of Gloucester
. . . as it has always been
Olson is talking about
the moral struggle
here as in America
or ancient Greece
or down among
the Guatemalan Mayans
a struggle over the land
over property over
who owns the fish
in the sea
does anyone hold
a title to them
inherited from whom
the origins of ownership
just as one bird may steal
the food from another
to feed its young
who owns the discourse
who owns the language
who owns art and poetry
the pomposity of some
so-called professionals
who despise the amateur
who look down on all from
their towering ignorant egos
Truth is the holy grail
and beauty shall be known
by its innocence
by its wholesome disclosure
as it has always been
the struggle is moral
John Lyons