Poem #66 of 365

i stare at 400
watts of bulb llight
with upturned voice
and face,

asking the heat
from those glass orbs

to be strong enough
to burn me hard
smite the spite
melt the chainlink
razor wire gates
that clutter
my walk
make me stumble
unsure, untrue.

the light is unblinking,
closer than stars,
and i am unashamed
to request catharsis,
and a flame that might make
me singe pure:

please make me deserve this role,
this responsibility.

and please help me remember to honor
to honor
to honor
to honor
those who can no longer do this work
alongside me on this path
(ken hunt first, then pasha and devin,
then lorenzo and then michael meyer and
those who have asked for poems and time and calls
i have not had the time to give back

please don't let me wait until it's too late
let me now
honor
and honor
and honor
the elders
and the children
and every one of my tribes
people today


[after re-reading Kamala Platt's essay "Social Justice Theories in Performance Poetry" (1994) about my literary work, written when i was still so very wet behind the ears and so fast out the chute...]

copyright 2007 tammy melody gomez