I listened to Matthew McConaughey speak at the White House
As he walked away from the podium, among the questions called out this,
“Where you grandstanding just now sir?”
I thought, of this counterpunch thrown from a throng
No weight behind it, a hanging stain
Demeaning the words by attacking the man
Just an actor with his lines.
Hollowing out the stories
Making them as insubstantial as any byte of news
Matthew, the White House Press Secretary called him,
Matthew sharing stories
Stories from where I live and work
School stories yes,
But not my school
That’s the story we’d like to tell ourselves
That’s the story that, like the called out question,
Means we do not need to pay attention,
Means we do not need to act.
But we do, and now, and not just this.
It is almost long past time,
almost too late,
Almost, but not quite, not yet.
I listened to Matthew McConaughey speak at the White House
and I felt the stirring of something we used to call hope.
