Kah Tai

Nurse – It's, still moving, or...?

Doctor – Yes, let's see- it's

Nurse – Beating?

Doctor – Scalpel!

Nurse – But, but...

Doctor – There, it's quiet now.

Nurse – But, wasn't that– the heart?

Doctor – Oh, yes, well I guess it was—

***

And so you too, Port Townsend,

The knife is raised, and what yet beats

Can be silenced soon enough.

This heart, this quiet place,

At rest in the fold of silent tongues,

This, that no man, no group,

No councilman, or commissioner,

has the right to take—

This heart beats for all, and

All should have a say.

If ever a referendum should be held,

Then it is now. If this heart is to be

Cut out, then all hands should grasp

The handle, and all hands thrust the blade.

Those who think they alone should cut

This heart—remember

Blood does not wash.

Brian Young

Port Townsend