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a cento for the revolution

6/19/2020

 
the whole world went crazy
because the “Negroes” were coming down the street
devouring light

from want of bread, of pride, of dignity, 
of our liberation. 
​

this is our audacity--
to learn to pronounce freedom,
for the brittle body to rearrange itself,
with all the power, 
against all hope.
​
​

(credit for lines used listed below)

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incendiary

5/28/2020

 
if your rage be fire, burn
all this shit to the ground. 
be an arsonist, sulfurous 
in your fury. when they tell
you that furor is futile, tell
them that yours was the
back all their motherfucking
glory was built on and 
you will be damned if all
​this tinder goes to waste. 

AMERICA HAS ALWAYS SMELLED LIKE SMOKE.

5/27/2020

 
                  after Abel Meeropol

Will the flesh too burn black after
the skin has been removed?
Will plasma curdle and teeth flake
and lungs bubble and cells burst?
Everything has been baptized by inferno
yet the trees do not die
and their produce does not expire;
it's as if they've been planted
by streams of ichor. 
Their gardeners refuse to 
labor in vain. 

How is it that even after
the fruit has been plucked
(or knee revoved
or gun reholstered
or fists loosened)
that there are still those who
do not see the fire
despite all this
smoke?
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