by Rudolph Lewis
Wherever we may be, when nightriders
thundering in the fog, shaking the village
I choose us
Corralled at the sea fort for the king’s pleasure
we sang our royal song of betrayal & defiance
I choose us
We many bodies, many tongues, many histories
in the dark feces-filled belly of far-reaching ships
I choose us
When we ignite the flames of the One, when heaven
revolts in wind & wave, we collapse in shipwreck
I choose us
We count the living & the dead on a captured isle
of mountains, marooned, we raid plantations to live
I choose us
Learning the Christian language & way, from slaves
in backwater Charleston, remembering warriors dead
I choose us
Speaking Chic-ca-saw & Cherokee—native blood, falling
singing its death chant, running in woods that never was
I choose us
Exodusters & Assembly on Liberty Island, ain’t yet free
we work, we be—strong arms decide who eats & lives
I choose us
From Southampton to the Superdome, they own us
drown us in blood, they do what they want with us
I choose us
Scattered like the grain in the winter air, blowing
I sing songs of war, dirges too, and love lost love
I choose us
When a people is dispossessed, eternally awol
corralled onto tiny urban islets of gloom & woe
I choose us
With dreams beyond sparkling jewels & gleaming
mansions, & block stretch limousines, righteous
I choose us
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Last updated November 13, 2022