OUT FRONT

_________

 

I am grateful for...

 

The arched roof above my head

The twin rafters with 

The twin lights, holding it in place

The four walls surrounding me

The two windows with

The two Venetian blinds, down & shut at all times

The red brick floor below my feet

The wooden shelves full of books & movies

The VHS by themselves & DVDs in clear totes

The Keetsa© mattress I sleep on

The melatonin that helps me sleep

The vegan food in my fridge, a meat-free zone

The fruit & vegetable juices I savour

The filtered water I drink more than tap shit

The hardcover journal notebooks and

The rollerpoint pens I use to express myself

The shower I use, even though I'm a bathtub man

The Hewlett Packard laptop computer aiding creation of

The once and future poetry volumes

The Samsung© TV & VCR/DVD player combo

The little house in East Oakland I call home

The vast collection of political slogan t-shirts 

I wear the convictions of my heart

On my chest

SOMETIMES ANTI-SOCIAL ALWAYS ANTI-RACIST

Remains a personal favourite, but

BEING BLACK IS NOT A CRIME

Gets me the most love on the street

 

But most of all

 

I am grateful for...

 

The bus drivers

The firefighters

The restaurant 

Delivery drivers

The subway train conductors

The launderette clerks

The grocery store workers

The farmer's market workers

Which I happen to be one

The doctors

The nurses

The paramedics

The pharmacy workers

The protestors for the rights of all Black lives

The dead and the living

The mutual aid collectives

Giving food, water, medicine and household

Items to the people living hand to mouth

During this goddamn pandemic

And long before

 

All the heores

Out front

In our service

Seeing to our immediate 

Survival needs

 

They could use the praise

 

And you don't need 

Super powers

To be a hero

 

Just be there

Out front

For us--

_________________________

W: Stonewall Anniversary 2020

[ For Jennifer A. Minotti. ]

 

[ From the book Rusty Gallows: Passages Against Hate, Vagabond Books, 2022. ]