Randy Weston’s African Rhythms Concert, the Day After (for Sally Ann Hard & Alex Blake)
Ars Poetica (1): Art as Propaganda
{#289-128}
PROPERTY OF THE STATE
These are not images to cheer you
—except that you may see in these small acts
some evidence of my thought and caring
—Dennis Brutus
: ANIMALS
The only thing less than a nigga is a prisoner.
—Rojai Fentress, August Correctional Center
a heatwave envelops the mid-atlantic
abnormal like the notion of prison
outside an unrelenting centigrade
oven bakes the male housing unit—
cells are jam-packed with the guilty
who pled out though very innocent
7 sounded better than 25 straight
for more than a few consecutive days
there is a spell cast over the complex
a 5” fan oscillates the aroma of piss
from the toilet bowl & it’s jungle-like
where grown men & young boys blend
each inmate’s sadness compounded—
no shade nowhere to hide & running
will get that ass shot at the razor fence
dangling in blood so you sit—suffer
while asking is this how the story ends?
: ARREST WARRANT
hereby an order is issued to appear
stand before ethical gatekeepers
failure to comply is not an option
jurors of the common body the state
do believe an illegitimate break a tear
in society’s framework did transpire
in violation of article 27 section 30(a)
contrary to the act of assembly against
peace a true bill no one will care about
criminal {#289-128} shall inherit destiny
underneath a systemic bootheel
no one will bemoan dire circumstance
racism, disparities, unemployment, habit
lack of wealth nor egalitarianism—
the usual roadblocks shall be futile
in this quest to not only detain but yes
ensure erasure transpires for the good.
: DON’T TRUST THE PROCESS
weight & waiting & wait—
naked stand before a guard
you are now quite invisible
will not materialize through
iron nor the ignorant—
nothing changes nothing:
intake, property, medical
seize a piece of humanity
each destination a moral point
converging toward a cell
hidden in the open by a lie
no one actually believes unless
given a grand tour via hands
cuffed to unbreakable plastic
behind the back pulled taut
no money no phone call no bail:
product for expenditure.
.or. process as prosecution
for the good of the people,
dante & duncan said. the most
abused of an unrighteous order
wrote the soledad brother.
good people do not reside here—
screaming in a dark ocean
the body is not constitutional
becomes more effective than
yelling this setup ain’t right!
: THE MAKING OF {#289-128} IN FIVE PARTS
*
you will be arrested & sequestered
as property of the
