RIGHT HERE
…And so…
We are here.
How’s the body? Numb
How’s the spirit? Charged
How’s the mind? Foggy
Am I a witness
Or is this happening to me?
It feels like it’s happening to me.
I read the headline
But my body feels like it’s happening to me
I heard the outcry
Still, my body feels like it’s happening to me
It’s my neighbor so it is me
It’s my city and so it is me
It’s my state, my country
And it is me.
And I am here.
But how long will that be?
Will my voice leave first, before my body?
Will my body hide? my voice immortalized?
What last words will they hear me cry?
What last words will be twisted into lies?
I am here
Steady
Ready
Heavy
You can only silence me down to petty
I no longer fear death
Death no longer sounds heavy.
Heavy is an America carried on one set of shoulders
The weight distributes evenly as we all become bolder
I hope I’m allowed to weaken as I grow older
May my bones rest
May my heart not beat colder
Here I am
A witness that is in this
My skin a lifelong sentence
Freedom distorted in the distance
Feels like I had a fever dream
What a nightmare is this tension
I hope I always see the gleam
Love’s not another dimension
Here I am
Poised in the face of danger
Devoid of aimless anger
I feel like Joseph in the manger
What job am I tasked with
That I did not help create?
An entirely big ask
To fix what’s not a mistake
I am here
I’d rather give myself before they take
I am here
To stay I need my body to shake
I need my spirit to hum
I need our nation to quake
‘Cause we are here
Drumming while marching on icy streets
We are here
Protecting the children and babies
We are here
Reporting exactly on what we see
Ensuring our neighbors eat
Speaking out against evil deeds
We are here
Not one job will slow the fight
That’s right here
May all of our efforts prove us right
To keep us here
And may we never lose sight
May our communities keep tight
As long as day turns to night
I am here
With you
With us
We move
To be here.
In us
We trust
Were fueled to be
Here
Dreaming to be here
Fighting to be here
Scraping the ice clear
To ground ourselves
Here.
With you
With us
We move
To be here.
In us
We trust
Were fueled to be
Here
Dreaming to be here
Fighting to be here
Scraping the ice clear
To ground ourselves
Here.