Brown and Blue (for Alex)

(presented at the Art of Community Healing Workshop at the United States Social Forum)

i.
this
is a first breath
again
and now
put your hand on your heart
if you hear this
and breathe

ii.
where is the place
for little girls
who breathe in bubbles
sneak home in song

where is the place
for this little girl
who would make a jumprope
out of every cloud

iii.
dark is a place
not a color
not an absence
dark is a place
of resewn curtains
where the law is fear
where the knot is not (w)hole

iv.
family
is a place
a chainlink playground
of struggling grass
and broken glass
we could grow a garden here
unbottle this mosaic
this is almost home
when i tilt my head

vi.
and loud is the spot
next door
the place that wants more
and loud has a secret revolving back door
an off the books staff
and a filthy kitchen
i heard
that on thursday nights
loud is a front
one panel from shroud
and loud
is the place that i hide


vii.
but free is a place too
it's the place that I loosen
when i'm speaking the truth
that the ancestors use
like a brown parachute

this
is the place for little girls
and their songs
where always learning
is never wrong

this is a first breath
again
and now
put your hand on your heard
if you hear this
and breathe