GET ME TO THE RIOT
Get me to the riot
before they block the streets
I've got to see
what it's all come down to
night glowing in the distance
end of how it was
taxi stops to let me out
this is as far as he goes
roar behind the tall buildings
popping shots and screams
down the street rolling smoke
a man limping from the haze
his eyes swollen and lip bleeding
carrying a smoldering rag of a flag
I jump out of the cab
walk past him into the wave of smoke
coughing back to when the world was born
in a wink of fire.
THE BURN
My hat on fire
night sky watching my sputtering
in the tired crowd leaving the scene
smoke stains in our nostrils
hair heavy with soot and bloody knots
many arrested and dragged away in cuffs
heroes of the city
depleting the underground
another march tomorrow
until no more
rain washing the gutters clean
going to sleep in my cell
flames spreading from my pillow
igniting newborns.
Stephen Jarrell Williams loves to stay up all night and write with lightning bolts until they fizzle down behind the dark horizon.
No comments:
Post a Comment