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Echoes of lies resound endlessly
throughout his-story: “we hold these truths
to be self-evident…”
Were not these utterance heard
the day before yester years…echoing
today…bellowing into tomorrow years?
The road to life…liberty…happiness
is cluttered—blocked with dead bodies—
dead bodies of those in pursuit thereof.
Flags flutter—I stand…kneel…wonder…
asking also… “What shall I celebrate today?”
The Ancestors whisper: “We’re still here—rising!”
Though stolen…shackled and dehumanized,
we continue to rise…from the depths of bigotry
to the mountain top of dignity.
Come…let us celebrate—celebrate our story
of ancestor victories over seemingly insurmountable
trials and tribulations of racist dehumanization.
Come…let us celebrate—celebrate new strategies
to meet New Jim Crow tactics radiating from the bordered
bowels of the mouths of White House new masters.
Come…let us celebrate—celebrate a Bar-B-Q of fears
based with the sauces of audacious courage—marinated
in the juices of uncompromised liberation.
This day for me…I will celebrate—celebrating our-story
of triumphs…victories…over-comings—continuing to rise
with gifted God guided eyes—stayed on the imminent prize.
