IT IS NOT GOOD TO BE THE ONE
It is not good to be the one
who is noticed
among the thousand prisoners
being shuffled down the gray hall
in gray jumpsuits and manacles,
so keep your head down,
flow like water among the rows.
Keep your place.
When your number is called,
don’t respond too quickly or too loudly;
too slowly or too softly.
Be like Baby Bear’s bed.
It’s best when they need to be reminded
of your name.
Do everything carefully and well
but not too well and not too swiftly.
Don’t be the first one to wake up
and never volunteer.
Stay a few bodies on either side of the middle.
Don’t be either the first in line
or the last.
It is not good to be the one
who is noticed.
There is a Japanese Proverb –
“The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.”
Stay in place. Hold on tight.
Don’t let them remember you –
the men who wield the hammers.
Don’t wear a mask
and don’t look directly into the camera.
Keep your head down without averting your eyes.
After you’re dead,
let there be statues of someone else.
It is not good to be the one.
©2022 John Tustin All rights reserved.
John Tustin’s poetry has appeared in many disparate literary journals since 2009. fritzware.com/johntustinpoetry contains links to his published poetry online.