freedom is non-negotiable

you once said we were worth
three-fifths
oh to be worth
that much
to you

we stand with our hands up
and they hollow out our bellies
with bullets
leaving only a hashtag behind

the cancer was there
at the beginning
and for the longest time
we’ve been addicted to smoking

the chemotherapy burns

sets fire to the arteries
burning cancerous and healthy alike
our hair falls out
but we beat the cancer back

at least for a while

the cancer remained
always waiting
for a chance
to s p r e a d

killing those parts of you
you never deemed important enough
to see

we think ourselves cured

we keep smoking

we can’t breathe

it solves nothing
but we need to smoke
it solves nothing
it’s all we can do to quell the anxiety
it solves nothing
it helps us feel in control
it solves nothing
expensive, nasty, brutish habit
and we spend more on it every year

we catch a flu
and have to decide between fighting
the flu that may kill us soon
and
the cancer that kills us every day

the tumours return
spreading, malignant
this far, we say, and no farther

so now it falls to us
we administer the chemotherapy
it burns once more we will knock this cancer into remission
again

but if you’re tired
of having your life
interrupted by our aggressive course of treatment…

…quit smoking.

there’s a very good
reason
the badge is shaped like
a shield
and not
a gun

the first mold she had to
break
was her own

could you imagine
break
ing your ribs
so your heart could be
free

when the news reached galveston
the last to hear
closed her eyes
dreamed of us

and smiled

inmate #7215 finished
his work for the day

deft fingers sewing on
tags that say

made with pride
in the usa

could you stop killing us, please
if its not too much trouble
it has been a difficult day

and i havent yet had time to grieve
the life that was lost
at the beginning
of this sentence

the seed was buried in the earth
before the sapling grew

the animals ran wild for years
before we built the zoo

the moon, without our almanac
still shines forever true

and just cause somethings new to you
that doesnt make it new

twenty percent off all
black lives matter merchandise now till
august thirty-first and

a stock photo of a
dad helping his son
adjust his n95 mask and

breonna taylor’s
killers still
walk the streets as

her landlord wonders
who will pay
her rent

i am the bird
that broke free

i am strong
enough to fly

i am not strong
enough to carry the cage

green was the only
opportunity i knew
when they said that
i threw my life away

well i lost more years to
possession with intent
than you spent
on your fucking mba

motherfucker
we
are
trying
to
free
you
too

we’ve been borrowing
from the future
for years

the future
has come
to collect

two bare feet walk off an alabama porch
and into history

in your footsteps
twelve hundred church shoes step into selma
in your footsteps
two million boots trod into the capitol
in your footsteps
countless feet lift the banner worldwide

rest now
the work is not done
but thanks to you
neither are we

silent vans in the
night
the long arm of the
law
bears a tattoo:
never forget

she was an emt
i’m told, again and again

nine shots plant in her and
one first responder watches as
one first responder can scarcely ask why

tell me, officer,
was she supposed to heal herself?

how are my children
supposed to stand tall
with a bulletproof backpack
full of white history

it’s so funny how
a nation founded on
slave labour
thinks the solution
to every goddamn thing
is “work harder”

another black life extinguished
we try to get your attention
again

gunsmoke rises in the video
his runaway soul captured
lashed to plow an infinite feed
reaping advertisements
as if a thirty-day workout is enough
to transform my body into one
they won’t shoot

child,

dance

dance like the first one to
hear the depths of her own
heartbeat and call it music
liberation through rhythm reclamation

dance till the walls shake
and the ceiling caves in
and the stars hold you steady
as you scream your grief into the
endless night

dance until the sun burns itself into
your glorious crown
the heat rising with our voices
in the dawn
we summoned

dance with the humid
sweat of lovers entwined in the
sacred business of fucking
and never forget we create pleasure
before we create life

dance so when the time comes
to finish the marathon
your legs are strong enough
to carry you that one final step
to freedom

birds don’t defy gravity
they just know how
to play with
the weight of the world
without carrying it

the flame burns in the engine still
manhattan to western shore
’neath blackened soot and orange sky
the engine cries for more

we never forget, yet scarce recall
what history’s thrown on the pyre
still bound to the engine, desperate for fuel
—and everything’s cold to the fire

i am looking at the mountain
and wondering the grade
the trek that lies ahead of us
the waters we will wade

though beasts within the forest dark
still gnash their teeth with glee
i’ve got my trusty firelight
and you to walk with me

the road is long and treacherous
and so far we have marched
past smoke and plague and turbulence
and men with evil hearts

and though the path ahead of us
we scarcely can foresee
i’ve got my trusty firelight
and you to walk with me

so take we now, a moment
while uncertainty abounds
we’ll need to keep on fighting
but for now we can sit down

for when the slope ahead of us
reveals its true degree
i’ve got my trusty firelight
and you to walk with me