Persist to Remain Invincible
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Poem by: MJ Perrin
Persist to Remain Invincible
those were the days,
some people say.
not the good old days for everyone,
but they were the days.
full of restless energy,
seeking purpose and action,
to turn an injured nation
into a haven for all.
they were the days of fear turned to courage.
discord, transformed into harmonious voices.
calamity, being muscled into a peaceful resolution.
those were the days
of the sixties and seventies.
when government turned spy on its own,
degrading, discrediting, mocking,
innocent harmless citizens.
exposing them to the inferno of hate.
making them easy prey to scorn, to hang, to oppress.
when the injustice actions of j. edger hoover, was justified,
in the name of God and Country.
those were the days,
when nooses dangled in the wind, waiting.
when massive mobs, sweltering in anger,
cursed and spat and hosed and legislated
their resistance to change.
those were the days when “others”
refused to continue in silence,
so took to the streets
announcing their intent
to reject the status qua.
the days when brave, simple folks,
took arm to combat monsters,
disguised as men of honor, heroes, protectors, patriotists,
who at night took their true form
as blood-thirsty creatures hiding behind cloths of hatred.
those were the days
when determination was the backbone of hope.
shackles were the inspiration for freedom.
and the spiritual voices of loved-ones taken,
were sirens, demanding justice.
those were the days,
that freedom fighters
had hoped never to fight again.
had hoped,
the evil wall of the belligerent
would fall to expose a new world,
where the sun would be respect
and the moon kindness.
a dream for us all someday.
someday,
we continue dream.
those were the days,
and i have seen them all
through the eyes of
Rosa Parks and Shirley Chisholm and Barbara Smith.
the passing of time has worn its mark on me,
leaving false impressions
of weariness and remorse.
these are my truths.
it is hard enough to be black.
it is hard enough to be a woman.
it is hard enough to be queer.
it is hardest to be all three.
but i remain standing, through it all.
through the racism, the misogyny, the homophobia.
i remain standing,
with no other purpose than to persist,
at being invincible.
and i shall remain standing,
as the pompous behavior of forefathers
resurface in their offspring.
re-invigorate by an ogre
posing as a man of great deeds.
revered by reincarnated thugs
seeking a past that should have died long ago.
bullies, who no longer hide,
but march in daylight, armed,
prepared to kill,
to annihilate “those people”.
in the face of all this,
i shall persist to stand,
invincible.
and you?
© Copyright 2019 MJ Perrin. All rights reserved.
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