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U.S. Office Of War Information. Fort Knox, 1942

 

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A Capitol Offense

a quid pro quo threw knives
into the government’s heart
a coup to reinstate an orange plague
almost happened

combustion
fueled by messianic idiocy
used privilege to smash windows
& attempt abduction of evidence for a nation’s choice

but threats will not cease

shutting down a malevolent man’s Facebook
or Twitter accounts will not end a war used as landfill
to hide the truth for more than four years

a new messiah will rise …carry the mob’s banner
that fell on the Capitol’s steps

we forget that this stolen nation
was born from unrest …greed… & phobias

we are not safe

when Black Lives don’t matter
when ICE puts shackles on brown wrists
when one person’s God is the only God
when women’s uteruses are no longer theirs
when people can’t express their love for another
when age becomes a negative number
when the list for injustice keeps getting longer

the earth is dying as we speak

shit happened in Europe

it can also happen here

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Patricia Carragon’s poem “Paris the Beautiful” won Poem of the Week from great weather for MEDIA. Her fiction piece “What Has to Happen Next” is nominated for Sundress Publications Annual Best of the Net Anthology. Her latest book from Poets Wear Prada is Meowku. Her debut novel, Angel Fire, was just released by Alien Buddha Press. Patricia hosts Brownstone Poets and is the editor-in-chief of its annual anthology. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

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Listen to a 1959 recording of Abbey Lincoln singing “Let Up,” featuring Bobby Boswell (bass); Max Roach (drums); Cedar Walton (piano); Stanley Turrentine (tenor sax); Julian Priester (trombone); Tommy Turrentine (trumpet)

 

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