the full citizenship act…

as i was entering
the main library
i saw
the brown bag prophet
in the courtyard
with
a cup of coffee
and
a stack
of
law books
he seemed
to be
composing something
on
a notepad
when i
inquired
he said
he was writing a law
to
pass onto his
congressperson
for
consideration
when i asked
what rights
does it grant
the brown bag prophet
said
nothing’s granted
granted
implies a regal gift
no
this law
recognizes
that women
aren’t
chattel
and
have the right
to
make decisions
about
their own lives
and
bodies
without the imposition
of
religious or male
mandates
for
without that
they don’t have
full citizenship

 

 

cancellation of fireworks…

i asked
the brown bag prophet
if it
bothered him
that
the city
had
cancelled
the annual fireworks
he
said
ain’t nothing
to
celebrate
this
fourth of july
won’t even
make
a good wake
for
a dying nation
a nation
with
an ever growing
body bag
count
bagging up
blacks
and
browns
those grown
and
those
who’ll
never
get to grow
shot dead
as they read
what a great nation we are
should have read
we were
and
when we’re done
bagging up
the nra’s
school lunches
we’ll starting
filling up the bags
with
botched abortions
or
young mothers
who died
giving birth
to
a child
demanded by
and
abandoned by
good christians
protecting
a moral code
written
on rice paper
promoted
by
demigods
of
greed
so please
don’t ask me why
i’m
not celebrating
or
upset
about
cancelling
a fantasy freedom event

and the answer’s no…

we are the people
and if you invent new laws
we will not follow
if you reject women’s rights
we will not follow
if gender roles offend you
we will not follow
if decisions are racist 
we will not follow
if you aid and abet crime
we will not follow
if power’s your only goal
we will not follow
if our voices go unheard
we will not follow
what we do follow makes law
we’re the final judges

playpens…

traditionally
a square shaped space
with
solid bars
resembling
a cage
no
flexibility
in
the range
of
movements
but
was excellent
at
teaching
the lesson
that
there was no way out
but
the old-fashioned
bar design
is
long gone
now
modern designs
provide
flexible walls
and
a clearer view
of
what’s beyond
the
horizon
thus
facilitating
the illusion
of
freedom
this sense
of
freedom
can be enhanced
by
a variety
of
extra features
added
to
this
stagnant environment
options
that are
entertaining
and
distracting
thus
heightening
the belief
that all things are possible
but
like
all social playpens
the function
remains
the same
to maintain
confinement
thereby
safety
for
the ruling class

 

 

i have a dream…

thousands of pieces
all your life’s expectations
littering your mind
unkept social promises
they remain unsigned contracts

 

the same old story…

aunt bea
was sitting
on the front porch
with a neighbor lady
discussing
how much
things
haven’t
changed
aunt bea
said
you can
put as many ornaments
on a tree
as
you want
but
what lies
beneath
is still
a naked tree
discrimination
is
discrimination
no matter
how many
glitter laws
you put
on the books
such mandates
when held only
by
a thin string
of printed words
will fall
and
shatter
with the slightest
breeze
of ignorance