Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Poems of Resistance, Power & Resilience – Ryan E. Holman

Close up image of a microphone on a stage. The audience that is facing the microphone is blurred, appearing as a myriad of colors (red, white, green, yellow, etc.)
As the incoming administration builds its agenda of attack on marginalized people, on freedom of speech, on the earth itself, poetry will continue to be an essential voice of resistance. Poets will speak out in solidarity, united against hatred, systemic oppression, and violence and for justice, beauty, and community.
                
In this spirit, Split This Rock is offering its blog as a Virtual Open Mic. For the rest of this frightening month, January of 2017, we invite you to send us poems of resistance, power, and resilience.

We will post every poem we receive unless it is offensive (containing language that is derogatory toward marginalized groups, that belittles, uses hurtful stereotypes, explicitly condones or implies a call for violence, etc.). After the Virtual Open Mic closes, we hope to print out and mail all of the poems to the White House.

For guidelines on how to submit poems for this call, visit the Call for Poems of Resistance, Power & Resilience blog post


***


You, in the Pink
by Ryan E. Holman

Rose,
Magenta,
reclaim the color
once exclusively used for boys;
defy the blues.

Fuchsia,
Coral,
protect what you value;
you are the reminder
that pussies have teeth.

We stand at the intersection;
obstacles to the Left,
barriers to the Right.
The only viable way is forward.

Wear pink as warpaint;
not as blush
but as granite,
as quartz,
polished or rough;
fearless of the blustering storm.

We are good enough
because we make good
on our promises
to rise up and be counted;
Like our sisters who came before
make great, America, again.

No comments: