Ashes
Sweep away the ashes, child make an altar for the bones what horrors careless men have wrought are finally coming home
Soften your heart to the pain, child find solace in new songs let fires burn away the past but never forget its wrongs
Sweep away the ashes, child make an altar for the bones what horrors careless men have wrought are finally coming home
Soften your heart to the pain, child find solace in new songs let fires burn away the past but never forget its wrongs
We harvest our grief under ashen skies sun hidden from our eyes hearts choked with fear grasping hands worn rough with hope
We hold each other close
We pray to the fire to take a rest to return our song-filled breath to find its peace with what's been done and let our souls burn in its stead
Did you ever imagine in all the things that could go wrong that nature itself would turn your air into poison?
The factories can be stopped the cars can be turned off but the fire will just burn until it is full the wind will just blow as it pleases and there is no where else to go
I heard that you have planted a victory garden My own garden has withered this year, so I was pleased to know you have had better luck, and have taken up your spade for the revolution. I am curious to hear of your results Have your eggplants filled bellies in need? Have your sweet peas torn down any prison walls? Have your tomatoes brought respite to the weary hearts of the oppressed? I forgot to plant my own this year. Ok, I know you just ate them for dinner, and I started this poem in a pique, but the truth is I hope someday you do find your way
These moments that overcome us these crashing waves of fear and rage let them tear away the weights that drag us down So we can rise up! and breathe
These moments that overcome us these churning waters of despair let them toss our weary bodies together So we can find the ones who’ll hold us dear
These moments that overcome us these salty gales of shame let them whip the blinders from our eyes So we can see the truth of all there is
These moments that overcome us these rising tides of doubt let them wash away the stain of other people's words So we can know just who we are
These moments that overcome us this dragging undertow of grief let it teach us to swim this bitter sea So we can lead the way to shore
I am angry at this June sky, filled with these stupid fucking clouds
I am angry at this world and the people who run it, for all the obvious fucking reasons.
I am angry at these fuckers who commit violence, just to prove the world is too dangerous to change
I am angry that these words in my head could fill a novel, but keep coming out as these stupid little poems
I am angry at the always waiting
I am angry at these voices in my head pretending to be people with nothing fucking nice to say
I am angry at stupid things that won't work just how I want them to work
I am angry at these messes that won't clean themselves up
I am angry at this cavernous grief haunting the edges of my life
I am angry that so many people are falling off the edge and I can't save them
I am angry that my body is soft and broken in places, that it moves me through my days in the same safe ways over and over again when all I want is to run and fuck and feel and kick shit
Today I am angry that I am angry
I will probably still be angry tomorrow, too
These moments that overcome us
These crashing waves of fear and rage
Let them tear away the weights that drag us down
Let us rise up and breathe
White supremacy tells you, you know what there is to know about the world
White supremacy tells you, what you know of the world is all there is
White supremacy tells you, we must have all the answers before we can ask the question
White supremacy tells you, millions of people crying out in the street couldn’t know better than you, safe in your home
White supremacy tells you, being stopped by a man with a gun for a busted taillight is an acceptable part of life
White supremacy tells you, compliance is respect and punishment is justice
White supremacy tells you, others don’t deserve the kind of life you got for free
White supremacy tells you lies
White supremacy stole your hope for a better world before you even knew it was there
For too long the seeds have been planted the soil has been tended this garden has lain hidden in the shadow of those who refused to see
But finally the sun is shining and life is bursting forth this garden will bear the fruits of liberation and it does not grow in peace