POETRY
JANET ROGERS
louder than ever
They are hosting
A funeral for something
not yet dead and singing
celebration songs from the homelands
We are breathing
Long deep breathes
Between the lines of our
Oratory of inspiration
We listen
They were hoping
It’d all be over
By the new-year
Able to shake off flakes
Of residual history
Still clinging to our coat-tails
Of survival
We are singing
Louder than ever
Passing pride down the line
Giving thanks for schools and churches
Teaching us distrust and resistance
We appreciate it
They appear perplexed
Every time we rise
Letting it set in, for just one second
They could have been taught lies
Dismissive pursed lips
They swallow
“Look what they’re doing, over there!”
This is the food we’ve been craving
We are filling our spirits and we are gorging
on this goodness
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