Recall The Moon Of All Colors

—for

Anne Braden

& all of us

Remember

*

re-people your crowd

leaf by leaf

carpet forest roof, then floor

wash & scald, scour & wizen

moon after moon

fatigues a smile in the dark

masked teeth, eye flash

the sly monocle of self

directing sunlight into a burning mark

follow her new line (remember)

*

through the sky

EDGE out doubt

the crows crowing of heartbreak

their queer brilliance

their loneliness & triumph

their welcoming other

into the golding flood, go flow

into the death march,

resist

*

what is worth laying down for

is power naked

does Sappho’s fragment speak

do knotted strings speak census numbers

have shivers of fear restrained us

from bottomless love

*

remember the

thou

of you & us

autumn of courage

cascade of ecology

trilogies of presence

then, then, then…

it comes around again

now

Dedicated to the beginningless lineage of beings who devote their lives to inclusion, justice, equality, compassion, beauty, imagination; who live it as best they can & offer it as a gift to everything in all directions. Remember that we belong to a family of holy beings & re-call in good company our soft songs in midst of howling & thunderous roar. You are not alone, call upon the Earth & your beloveds for support. Be brave & willing to risk it all.