Poetry: When They Come by E. Martin Pedersen

When They Come

When they come for your mind

the voice will be that of your mother

the background will be your favorite place on earth

where you feel safe and warm

the camera will focus on your most embarrassing moments

pants down, scratching, crying without reason

broadcast worldwide as comedy

 

when they come for my mind

they’ll make war sound like the only way out

they’ll play my favorite song as I march

they’ll threaten me with prison

or dead family members

I only pretend to care about

but who I must save

unconditionally

 

when they come for our minds

they'll propose true eternal love

for a small donation, which is everything

for a good cause, our hearts bleed

a new religion, a business opportunity

to be like the rich, all the coke and hookers we can stand

 

I do not want to die, really, I don't

but when I do, then I won't

have to remember any more user names, passwords,

pin codes, high school locker combinations

names of people, places, things

I don’t want to remember

nothing left for them to take

I will never give again.

E. Martin Pedersen is originally from San Francisco, but has lived for over 40 years in eastern Sicily, where he taught English at the local university. His poetry appeared most recently in Ginosko, Metaworker, Triggerfish, Unlikely Stories Mark V, and Grey Sparrow Review among others. Martin is an alumnus of the Community of Writers. He has published two collections of haiku, Bitter Pills and Smart Pills, and a chapbook, Exile's Choice, just out from Kelsay Books. A full collection, Method & Madness, is forthcoming from Odyssey Press.