Haecceity
Haecceity
By Joshua Clover
If what you want is calm
to be restored you are still the enemy
you have not thought thru clearly
what that means
if what you want is a national
moment of silence the indictment
of a single police officer
or two or three you are still
the enemy you have chosen the reverie
of law for you and your friends if you want
another review panel a Justice Dept
study a return to democracy rather than
for riot and looting to leap beyond
itself from county to county
rift to rift until it becomes general
you have not understood
what a revolution is it’s just this
it’s coming out again night after night more of us
than there are of them it’s saying no
to every deal remember nothing
belongs to you because
nothing belongs to anyone
Joshua Clover is author of three poetry books, most recently Red Epic (Commune Editions 2015), and three of cultural history, most recemtly Riot Strike Riot: The New Era of Uprisings (Verso 2016); he’s been translated into ten languages. A Village Voice, Spin, FilmQuarterly, and The Nation columnist, he is a Professor of English and Comparative Literature at UC Davis. https://www.versobooks.com/books/2084-riot-strike-riot