EACH ONE OF US WHO HAS A FREEDOMLESS CHILD INSIDE

we will not define
for the children of Gaza
what their victory is
but rather hold
our mikes
to their smiles
and listen

here in the belly of the beast
each one of us
who has a freedomless child
inside
recognizes
the smiles of the children of Gaza
on the tightrope of victory
as vital
to the continued fight

each one of us
who has a freedomless child
inside
knows how much
the children of Gaza
need the silence of drones
if only for a day
to take selfies
next to their older selves
those who teach
the courage of the martyrs
who threw sticks
at the same drones

we who have been
freedomless
since before the plantation
know
how long the fireworks
of a ceasefire
can last
before the backlash

but
Is the time for burial
of loved ones left behind,
a time for essential mourning,
gained even for a day
not worth it?

is it not a victory
to touch the hand
of a tortured prisoner
whose death in isolation
had been planned
but who now joins the ranks
of those who will touch
an infinity of hands?

the children of Gaza
could not drink the polluted water
but they can get a fleeting taste
of freedom
against the dehydration
of the soul

let them take
a deep gulp of hope
before the next wave
of ethnic cleansing
is upon them

NO TIME FOR RHYME NOW

no time for rhyme
now

no time
now
to study academically
with placebos
the depth
of our ongoing suffering

no time
for the niceties
of alliterations

no time
for warriors’ rest
now

no time
for
fancy titles
and
visiting cards
and
a pecking order
in the revolution

no time
for
distraction

no time
even
for a spotlight
on predictable rhythm
in the syncopated times
of the death throes
of capitalism

there is
only time
to listen
to the ancestors’ whisper

only time
to re member
the rehearsals of
capoeira
and
Middle Passage mutiny

only time
now
for
fighting
to the finish

LET THE WARRIORS AND SURVIVORS SAY

the collected twigs are so thin
they look like hay
being fed to the flame
for their first open air
makeshift bath
the children say

this father
returned to find
his olive orchard
reduced to two trees
but says
trees
children
and
buildings
can be replaced
not the undying
dignity of the resistance

a little girl
cooks “Hope” recipes
based
on aid-delivered spam
and
rancid tinned beans
to post on instagram

the corporate media
would have us debate
whether the ceasefire
is a victory
or a smokescreen

endless panels
weigh the pros and the cons
of
what went on
behind the scene

but is it not
dehumanizing
for the Palestinian people
that we should define for them
what is their victory
when they are the ones
who resisted
were tortured
and died
with their ancestral eyes
on the Land?

let the warriors
and survivors
say …

PAINTING OUR UNITY

the rain of freedom
will be a perfect storm
of big and small clouds
collaborating

the mighty river’s tributaries
offer
different species of fish

so many lanes
lead
to the same roundabout

Our circle
is iridescent
because
equidistant from the center
where victory will hold
each point
offers
with its radical view
a creatively different hue

if the root of the rose
is the Revolution
each petal
of the flower
has its intrinsic strategic power –
its role to play
before it falls
to become root again

Fighting Words

Journal of the Communist Workers league

EACH ONE OF US WHO HAS A FREEDOMLESS CHILD INSIDE | NO TIME FOR RHYME NOW | LET THE WARRIORS AND SURVIVORS SAY | PAINTING OUR UNITY

Poems by renowned Black leader and activist Julia Wright