repeatedly raped…

history of degradation
denial of family rights
rejection of equality
covert systems of bondage
black life in america

 

 

republican voter suppression…

shadows of yesterday
lingering behind closed eyes
muted moments of life
held in fear‘s bondage
to make freedom unobtainable

junk drawers…

each nation has one
where it stores discarded parts
of humanity
utilitarian souls
for the capital machine

 

servitude…

the brown bag prophet
stopped me
and
asked
where’d
you go
to
high school
i
said
a small town
in
ohio
he laughed
so
i suppose
you never heard
of
martina arroyo
who
the opera singer
world-famous
got
her own
foundation
and
such
to help
others
in the arts
his look
turned serious
as
he said
some chains
are
invisible
the
hiding
of
information
that
provides
the soul
with
pride
is
a starvation
that
forms links
of
bondage
stronger
than
steel
he handed me
a black history calendar
and
walked away

at the cock’s crow…

rise
reach up
and grasp
what has been denied
listen no longer
to the voices
and
words
of those
who would
mire you
in the soft mud
of tradition
tradition
that always dries
into the concrete
of human bondage
binding your feet
and soul
into a harsh world
that should have died
long ago
but has endured
because of ignorance
and
brutality
rise now
reach up
and grasp
the knowledge
long denied
and defy
the carnage
of men
and hold tight
to the hand
of
saraswati