This Was a War Cry

This was a war cry!

An ancient dance of gold and fire

Sparking love and inspiration through

Ancient Mother tongues-     speaking prayers

To the Gods of Yesterday!       They speak of glory

Times when the sun loved the Earth so much it burned

The very ground it touched-      along with everything on it.

The precious stories that were told, words poured out of lips like

Water.

This was a War Cry.

Not a celebration dance

But one of blood and bone

Praying to ornate Gods for the

Blessings of death, the dark touch

Of the longest sleep- to be cast upon enemies.

Against the unwarranted intrusion- standing-

When nothing else was left- standing.

Naked under a mother Sun- standing!

Waiting for a promise, unfulfilled.

This was a war cry-

A symbol of what was taken.

Old Gods dying from steel chains

Wrapped around a foreign tongue

Forced down their throats like overfed cattle.

Forgotten- how to worship ancient Gods of home.

Losing proper speech- mouths fixed like awkward acrobats

Being forced to speak ignorantly- cast down second-hand.

Breaking       children’s hearts in cold grips leaving         nothing.

This was a war cry…

Losing memory day to day-

Dogs biting heels      crack of rawhide

Licking flesh open, feasting on red juice

From backs of an unbroken spirit they sang

In a foreign tongue they learned of a foreign God

Trying to tell their children that   

This…     

This was-

Fannie Lou Hammer dressed in high cotton,

Sitting on a bed of thorns for the rights of a people

This was-

Ceaser Chavez placing iron vices on grape vines

Standing above fields with proclamations of hope

This was-

The trail of broken treaties mourning the promises

Of forgotten men in white collar suits and rubbernecked ties

This was-

“Mom, I’m going to college”

This was-

“I love you too”

This was-

“Officers, Why do you have you guns out”

This was-

“Why did you shoot me?”

This was-

“I can’t breathe”

This is-

Please don’t let me die.

This is a war cry…

A hashtag cut into the skin of my back

Warranting the scar of mourning that goes

Unremembered by tomorrow morning’s newscast

Sitting in Red & Blue flashes petrified by fear.

This is a war cry-

A Black lives matters post unbridled

Manifested in twisted form- un-regarded!

All lives matters when black lives matters

All lives matters when dead lives matters

All lives matters when the scars on my throat

No longer bear the hatred of your past.

This is a war cry.

A manifesto from a mother tongue

Struggling to find the forgotten words for the

Same problems           Remembering the forgotten like

A faded tattoo

This is a war cry!

A celebration dance of gold and fire

A Mother tongue- speaking prayers of glory

When the sun loved the Earth so much it burned

The very ground it touched-      along with everything on it.

The precious stories told, by fireside nights by withered hands

Words poured out of lips like Water.

This is my war cry.