Persist to Remain Invincible

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?