Until Fingerprints Show

Look for the purple

Welcome, and a warm first hello to the newcomers!

I’m so happy you’re here.

Each of these Sunday poems center loosely around a tarot card, and this week we’re checking in with Temperance.

This card reminds me that I can’t gain wisdom without going through some life experiences.

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Contents:

1. Something I Saw in the News

2. Purple

SOMETHING I SAW IN THE NEWS

Department of Education is burning at the stake,
Melting down keys torn from children’s hands.
Foul fists are forging something useless and full of hate,
But much shinier
(Until fingerprints show the plan). 

One brick is ripped away, then another, then whole carts.
A child trapped in a nightmare loses their only way out:
A door becomes wooden shards,
And one dainty,
Sky-blue,
Size two tennis shoe
Plays hide-and-seek in piles of grout.

Department of Education is burning at the stake.
I always wanted to live inside an outrageous dream,
But, I meant one where I was famous and life was great,
Not one that fills me with outrage.
Listen to the elders keen:
Their softened hands have already read this page. 

How much force does it take to break it all apart?
Which hammer-stroke will pull the final nail,
Groaning, from drowned planks?
Someone more fit to lead
Carved their initials into the side of this ship long ago.
How much abuse will we take while giving thanks?
How long will we wait to accept all that we know?

Department of Education is burning at the stake.
You know what this means?
It’s our job now to educate the babies, children, and teens who we make. 
It’s on us adults to remember what it was to grow,
What it felt like not to know,
And to sweep aside those wolves
Who would steer our next generations into hell
With their sweet words and their deadly teeth.
It’s on us to sound the alarms and ring the bell. 

How much can we win if we only try?
Department of Education: goodnight. 

PURPLE

It’s gods saying hello when I see purple-headed chives:
The color of the flowers matches the flesh of my heart.
A message straight to me, purple says: “Yes, you are alive.
You have everything that you need to start.”

It’s the oh-shit handle on the car ceiling in a crash,
When I’m not sure if I’m here on Earth or how I’m feeling.
It’s the fat candle that whispers, all night long, to the past:
“Life is still warm. Let’s see what else it brings.”

Blackberries and a sack of bruise-blue plums can coexist,
A jam band that plays all night long and fills the whole damn house. 
Melt in a bath of sugar, be what drizzles and what sticks,
Something that darts, and brightens, in the mouth. 

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Did you know I have a podcast now? Check out the latest episode:

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