Poem: The Movement
06 Jun 2020This poem was written in June 2020 and shared at the MIT community vigil held in the wake of the murders of Ahmaud Aubery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Tony McDade. This poem is a commemeration of resillience and a call to action.
There is a movement in us
us beaten, us broken
us kindred once stolen
There is a movement in us
All starved and choked
In endless woke
There is a movement in us
Like tears forcibly held back,
Allowed to see through the eyes,
But never able to change their gaze
Finally pushing out of the tear ducts
Streaming around the plump cheeks on
The smiling face of their country.
As the tears crash into the ground
They cry out to the Lord “Speak!”
“America,” He says,
“Will you join hands with the tree that grows watered by tears?
Will you be cut by her bark, be healed of your fears?
Will you give up injustice—axe and sin held too dear?
Will you say to the tree ‘live free and live here’?”
There is a movement in her
Whether joined at the side,
Or left hanging, left dry
There is a movement in her,
All earth and crown
Crimson and brown
We are the movement for sure
Tired of mourning unseen,
We march to the morning of A Dream
There is a move in the heart
There is a move of the mind
There is a move by the Spirit
So the only word I can find is
Move. Move.
From your pockets,
With your voices,
On your feet,
MOVE!