61800
June
anticipating the end of school the school year
like George Jackson
daily keeping track of lost time
marking the calendar in his prison cell
as I anticipated the days of stickball
African chants
from the mouths of neighborhood girls jumping double-dutch in loose fitting hot pants
and jelly bean shoes
news
we would spend our vacation amidst coconut trees and black sand beaches
eating pineapples and poi
temporarily trading in our Dashikis for leis and grass skirts
temporarily trading in the smell of grass
remnants of roaches
smoked from the mouths of the brothas in back of the schoolyard
to the smell of grass we could lie upon
and dream reality away just for a few weeks
moments in the light of day
splashing cool ocean water upon ourselves at church picnics
moments in the light of day
groovin’ to Motown
Soul Train Saturdays and family backyard barbeques
moments in the dark
in the most secluded corner Margie’s living room
moments with the Moments
Delfonics
Stylistics
seductive moments in motion with Andrea
or Cheri
or Terri
this is what I anticipated
while Huey Newton read
while Angela fled
while George Jackson bled
“the revolution was fought and won two centuries ago”
was what my teacher said
and while I knocked rubber balls over school fences with a bat
skulls were crushed
bones were dislodged all around me
sistas
hopscotching
double-dutching out of the way of tear gas cans and indiscriminate bullets
moments in the light of day
moments in the darkness of the street corners were all the same
the revolution never took a vacation
never takes a vacation
can’t stop by the side of the road for a cool drink of lemonade
or refresh itself on soft sandy beaches and tropical waters
I looked in the mirror
the front lines were closer than I thought
