1963: Birmingham and Harlem
- 1963: Birmingham and Harlem
After Martin Luther King's Why We Can't Wait
1
A boy sits on his stoop.The house leans hopeless
as he is. The rats love himand his family. They know
him. He has nowhereto go. He has nowhere
to be. He dreams of nowhere.When he wakes after
dreams of nowhere he goesnowhere. His school
forgets him. He forgets him.His parents work but
their exhaustion forgetshim too. Is he a dream?
Has his country deferredhim? Can nowhere
explode? [End Page 205]
2
A girl sits on her stoop.The wood of her home
older than her grandmother,but not as sturdy.
The field where her parentswork is thirsty as she
is, but not as angry.She sits and remembers
school but learns nowin a field because debts
are loud. They shout,more fury than books. [End Page 206]
3
This is the yearyoung people will sing
fury in a melodythat hurts, in a rhythm
that burns. A flame so hotfire hoses shove these
singers against walls.But those hoses and their
water, their judges,their county clerks,
their governor and theircountry cannot extinguish
anything. [End Page 207]
Joseph Ross is the author of three books of poetry—ACHE (Sibling Rivalry P, 2017); Gospel of Dust (Main Street Rag, 2013); and Meeting Bone Man (Main Street Rag, 2012). He teaches English and creative writing at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC, and writes at JosephRoss.net.
