thou shalt not

thou shalt not commit an act of culture
or take the name culture in vain

in an act of self-defense
understandable tho it would be
understandably

but it's not so easy
and shouldln't be tried

you should simply say that
even here
people can lead their lives with a kind of dignity
despite everything
living a life with a sort of dignity
and a life with beauty in it
and sometimes kindness
and tremendous sorrow

but not to say that as an act of defense against
the outside world that doesn't give a damn about your communty
and to recognize that
you cannot beat them at their game of buying selling
because once you try you have lost
the dignity which you wanted to defend
in the first place