Do you have any
friends, the darkness asks,
and for a moment
you’re surprised: you expected
salt, maybe, or terror.

China has some wisdom
to offer on this point:
Learn how to make
a lot of things that are basically
useless and also
a few things that matter, then
flood the markets.

The trick is that once
the markets are flooded,
you must create new markets.

Darkness does this
all the time, knocking
at your door: Do you have any
mercy, it asks, any weapons,
any sugar, any stone.