for Elizabeth (WMCR)
we once named each other
in the urgency of acronyms
codes both mocking and protective
of how dangerous it was
to speak
even then
i recognized in you
a diligent faith in words
a demand that shapes in ink
were spaces for holding
what the world would deny
again
and you with your dependable wardrobe
and i with my charged (if symbolic) fist
insisted that printed and scribbled letters
were black on white pages
by so much more than coincidence
so when we draped Atlanta
in recycled black panther party slogans
all power
to the people
more power
to the youth
yes.
we were desperate
for a prayer we hadn't made yet
yes.
we were dazzled
by the glamour of illegal youth
but we were also saying
what we still say now
over distances more literal
than the ones we first noticed
we were already saying
all we need to say this time
which is
yes.
********
Click here to read or listen to an award winning short story by Elizabeth!
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