Poems of Resistance, Power & Resilience – Cyrus Armajani

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. 

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Dear Baldwin,
by Cyrus Armajani

I don’t know how long it’s been

since you walked alone

under Harlem sky.

All at once, your brothers and sisters

are here - marching.

When I was young

we ran from the police.

Now sisters and brothers raise their fists

while it’s still light out

headed to the precinct or to shout down highways.

Baldwin,

you are here too, you are not a god

you are more important.

You taught us to fight

not because change is possible

but because we have no choice.

Don’t turn around, dear Baldwin,

for the lights spin endlessly

red and blue

as if of their own accord.