*Hands Off Our Democracy* *(a ghazal for You) * Hey Mister T and Little E, please take your hands off our democracy. We do protest against your anti-democratic, sour democracy. We know you both have no need for what the rest of us humans depend on: What you label “entitlements” were voted on to power democracy. Civil servants you consider free-loaders and frauds in society, We believe are essential workers in this cowered democracy. Book bans and unlawful deportation of American citizens Must be considered to be a nation with de-flowered democracy. What did you not understand when you heard from everyone “tariff means tax”? And by the way, creating oligarchs makes for whor-ed democracy? Free speech, free markets, free press, freedom from fear, freedom from want--freedom ain’t free. The words “free” and “freedom” ring hollow in a Trump Tower democracy. Mother Earth is the last voice you will hear in our democratic pleading. Mister T and little E, here’s our glower—“Hands off our—democracy.” Milan Hamilton March 6, 2025 The Ghazal (pronounced guzzle) was originally an Arabic poetic form, like an ode, often about unrequited or unattainable love, tracing back to Persian poets in the 7th century, becoming popular in the 13th & 14th centuries (Rumi & Hafiz), found its way to northern India, translated into Urdu, Hindi, Pashto, Turkish, and Hebrew. Goethe and Lorca experimented with it in German and Spanish. Indian musician Ravi Shankar popularized the form in the English-speaking world in the 1960s (the ghazal was often sung and accompanied Sufi dances). But it was the poet Agha Shahid Ali, who introduced the classical form in English to Americans. His poems “Tonight” and “Even the Rain” are worth a look. I chose this form for my Poem “Hands Off Our Democracy” after participating in the April 5th Hands Off gathering, to remind Those Who Care to keep the faith that being on the right side of history still matters. -- Mellow Milan Hamilton 80 North Center Street Redlands, CA 92373 Phone: (909) 943-1667 email: mellowmilan2@gmail.com