ONE TWO THREE
when we listen to the racket made by our running,
toward and not away, and all the bouts of despair
we bury in hallowed ground
and dust with the salt of our sweat
then i’m with you in jamestown
when we fill our cups with palm wine, yagé
and red soda water
i’m with you in plymouth
i’m with you in stono
when we force open the heavens
and take what we need
what was and is ours for our heaven
i’m with you in richmond and new orleans
i’m with you in new york city
when we wrap the bleakness
and cruelty of the past in wet warm rags
and roll them in ashes
with awe and respect
and touch our own bellies to remember
remember and never forget
i’m with you in hartford and seneca falls
i’m with you in washington dc and wounded knee
when we walk on the face of the rock
when we run with our chests thumping
like hands beating a barrel
i’m with you in oxnard and butte
i’m with you in san antonio and cincinnati
i’m with you in chicago
when we honor the blood of those ignored
those tortured
those slaughtered
blood spilled and not spilled
but boiling
i’m with you in harlem and laredo
i’m with you in los angeles and tampa
i’m with you in san francisco and vieques
when we break the shadowy precedents
when we find the path and open our arms
and hearts to the light
i’m with you in miami and delano
i’m with you in berkeley and boston
i’m with you in san diego and brooklyn
i’m with you orbiting the planet
when we recognize the faces under the whip
and when we don’t
when we stumble
when we lose direction
i’m with you
i’m with you in salt lake city and laramie
i’m with you in philadelphia and honolulu
i’m with you in ithaca and battle creek
i’m with you in fountain city and st. louis
when we know the body in the black bag
the body hanging from the tree
the charred body
and when we don’t
but we do the bystanders staring or laughing or crying
i’m with you in auburn and atlanta
i’m with you in crown heights and the north pole
i’m with you in montgomery and little rock
i’m with you in ashtabula and ripley
i’m with you in oakland
when we gather oranges for a feast or a wake
the rice
the lamb
sunflower seeds and sunflowers
sweet corn
greens and sugarcane
i’m with you in greensboro and birmingham
i’m with you in seattle and salem
i’m with you in atlantic city and memphis
i’m with you in reading and schoolcraft
i’m with you in fresno and chapel hill
in detroit and sitka
i’m with you