illumination
is how she feels, when the sun
makes the dull Earth… bright
illumination
is how she feels, when the sun
makes the dull Earth… bright
I am my mother’s cheers
I embody my father’s fears
I go further and further past
the painful sears
that ended mom and dad-
that end to their careers…
I am guardian
of my mother’s ghost
I am protector
of my father’s post
I am gatekeeper
to that lone fated coast…
I am master
of my mother
of my father,
their fates
The master
of all fates-
yet master
of none…
I’m their warrior
their savior
their angel-
I am Juno
I am
and I am
their soul
their love-
reborn
rose golden liquor-
what else is there to live for
after the last drop?
400 million guns
330 million Americans
In America
Guns outnumber People
. . .
Why?
Hundreds dying of viruses
every single day
every single day
Hundreds dropping to choruses
every single day
every single day
But
the Economic Show must go on
must go on
and on
and on
and on
forever
out and under
up and over
our dead bodies
our dead bodies
our dead bodies…
When I make art for myself
I’m happy and feel alive
When I make art for others
a piece of my soul withers
and dies.
this place is the face
the privilege choke with lace
and burn with kind mace
To be warm
is to be safe
But warmth is not a right-
warmth is a privilege
If you are cold
freezing and dying
you do not have the right
to build a fire
You have the right
to remain silent
So when the storm comes
and buries you deep
and you have no wealth
then
you will seep
And you will freeze
forever exercising
your right
of remaining silence
until your cold
bitter
end…
when the fire runs out-
and you end.
I am not grateful
for ignorance
I am not grateful
for prejudice
I am not grateful
for hate
I am not grateful for Trump
and I am not grateful for the far Right
who, despite being called so,
are always in the wrong.
I need to rest
to break away
from this tangling rut
I need to escape
from these chains
keeping me hostage
I need to leave
to get away
from this choking hold
I need to fly away
because these manacles hold me
bind me
suffocate me
keep me down, down, down…
and I remain a prisoner
because fear keeps me
from reaching through the bars
and touching that light
If I could have one wish
I would wish for freedom
from doubt
from that suffocating fear
that stills my breath
and keeps me dear…