The Blanket

I hear change.
Pressing my ear to the earth and its stirring bones,
baby vibrations kiss my skull,
I close my eyes and smile;
I detect approaching footfalls.
In conversations, the sketchy sparks of electrified embryos,
these restless hatchlings of hybrid hopes
spring from incubation, fall from lips and
onto my shirt, shoes and into the dirt we walk on.
They are not lost shards of fragmented dreams.
I choose to believe they are seeds.

I hear change.
Surrounds me: a lyric of tongue spoken with hands and feet,
a melody of ideas, philosophy, theology
married to passion in search of a savior
fashions a harmony, this whispered anthem
scratches my ear.
It is not an elegant sound, these staccato pinging
sutures of suffering sewn into faces
of mommies and daddies staring at babies
unconscious to thundering ticks of time
countdown seconds to roll call;
masses lined up for closeted stations in Purgatorio Nuevo.
And notes of simpatico silence as cellos
mourning the passing of faith in the night,
struggle to harmonize poorly with courage,
that blood of the ages which oils fear and flight;
I hear it.

I sense change.
I cannot feel it. The wind won’t reveal it. I’m numb to its presence.
I find no evidence trail on my tongue,
nor DNA refugees hiding in fingertips.
These trained eyes strain to identify
its invisible silhouette walking among us, and fail.
Yet, it is coming.
I know this because it is cold in here.
I should be shivering but I am not.
An other-earthly cloak has fallen,
cast around myself, its warmth just barely
coats me with a holy intuition.
Wrapped and huddled on front porch step,
eyes fixed upon that dark horizon
expectation welds me to this patient space
where, as prodigal children returning to rescue,
christening streaks of breaking light
will herald our transformation.

2011 Sojourner109

OWS, from A-Z, by Theodore Hamm

A=arraign; arrears; arrests

Many came to Occupy Wall Street because they are in arrears, only to be arrested, with some even arraigned.

B=Bloomberg; Brookfield Properties; Brooklyn Bridge

Bloomberg and his buddies at Brookfield were dismayed when the mass arrests on the Brooklyn Bridge failed to stop the protests.

C= commune; cops; corporations

While some folks are creating a commune, cops are protecting corporations.

D= democracy, American; democracy, direct

American democracy is controlled by political parties that respond to money, whereas direct democracy is handled by participants answering to each other.

E= exhilaration; existentialism; experience

Joining together with your fellow ninety-nine percenters can be an exhilarating existential experience.

F= freedom of speech; free market

Fuck that free market nonsense, the protesters say, exercising their right to free speech.

G=grip, gripe

Many who gripe about the OWS protests need to get a grip.

H=Hydra; hydrate

Donated supplies continue to hydrate the Hydra.

I=individualism; indivisible

I pledge allegiance to Occupy Wall Street, and to the democracy for which it stands, indivisible, with liberty and justice for the 99%.

J=jackboots; Jacobins

Don’t let the jackboots turn you into Jacobins.

K=Kelly, Ray; kettling

Kelly and his keepers keep on kettling.

L=love

At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me echo Che’s statement: “At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love.”  

M=money

A question for the banks: “Where’s the money, Money?”

N=Nine; Ninety-Nine

We are the 99 percent; You are the 99 percent—and all of us will gain nothing from 9-9-9 or any other nefarious nostrums.

O=occupation

The lack of meaningful occupations has led many 20-somethings to join the Occupation.

P=Percent, One

Lots of folks in the one percent will gladly tell you that they are part of the middle class.

Q=quest; quixotic

Ending inequality may seem like a quixotic quest, but the fight has to start somewhere.

R=revel; revelation; revolution

Many revel in the revelation that a revolution is upon us.

S= shambles; shame

American democracy is in shambles, and it’s a shame.

T= Tea Party

The Tea Party is astroturf, but OWS is grassroots.

U=usual; usurp

Rather than accept business as usual, OWS usurped national attention.

V=Vendetta

If there’s one flick that all the protesters seem to like, it’s V for Vendetta.

W=Wall Street

If there’s one place that none of the protesters seem to like, it’s Wall Street.

X=Malcolm

If there’s one radical figure that nobody on Wall Street likes, it’s Malcolm X.

Y=Yippies; yuppies

When OWS protesters channel the spirit of Abbie Hoffman and the Yippies, yuppies get nervous.

Z=Zuccotti Park

Though it sounds like an Italian restaurant, Zuccotti Park is actually the site of the New York City Commune.