“We do not recognize the body
Of Emmett Till. We do not know
The boy’s name nor the sound
Of his mother wailing. We have
Never heard a mother wailing.
We do not know the history
Of this nation in ourselves. We
Do not know the history of our-
Selves on this planet because
We do not have to know what
We believe we own.”
Source: The Tradition
“Even on those days
the news is fully bad.
And all you can do is get out of bed
and failing that
give thanks you have a bed not to get out of.
What does it take to make us smile
when we feel the sword of anger
and hatred
sharp against the backs
of our peaceful necks?
What does it take
to make us stand together
as if we just grew that way?
What does it take to know
the day of peace and justice
will one day come?
No matter who
is so badly
directing traffic?
What does it take
to feel a joy so strong
you can almost levitate?
All it takes, really,
is presence,
knowing that you, and those who feel
as you do,
ignoring roadblocks
will arrive.
Will brave the flights, the slights,
the nights of wondering
if and why:
the years of pain sometimes required
to know
where it is most essential
to appear.”
Source: Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart
“i forgot, as did my earth mother
to teach my hands how to hold another”
“two spears have glided,
and our souls collided
in mine, you confided
and my blackened mind
was enlightened”
Source: Sapling: The Beginner's Guide to the Art of Modern Poetry
“take me to your mountain, and let us fly past the sky”
Source: Sapling: The Beginner's Guide to the Art of Modern Poetry
“the sides of the road turned into wet paint.
the colors were no longer so faint.
his words a brush
and we were in no rush.”
Source: Sapling: The Beginner's Guide to the Art of Modern Poetry
“youth in love,
even when your ears ring,
tie your shoes under the moon
before the sun can touch the strings.”
Source: Sapling: The Beginner's Guide to the Art of Modern Poetry
“in here/ everyone must be / something other than human”
Source: Sapling: The Beginner's Guide to the Art of Modern Poetry
“The monkeys sit on soft rocks
Until a scream is released from their clocks
They stare into an abyss
Post photos of a lunar eclipse
Soul-filling moments
Consistently missed”
Source: Sapling: The Beginner's Guide to the Art of Modern Poetry
“the human in me
doesn’t belong to this society”
Source: Sapling: The Beginner's Guide to the Art of Modern Poetry