Tag: racism

brown to bright

sun light thru simple path
objectively condensing
immersing in salty nitrogen oxide smog
soaring intrinsic rainbows
living cells absorb and illuminate
radiating color buzzing art and industry
saturating dull forgotten fields
in slow steady streaking detox

brownfield at sunrise
(in 1995 twelve sites on the fairfield peninsula were reclassified from superfund sites to brownfields, creating an opportunity for redevelopment grants the city never managed to use to transform its long history of abusive jurisdiction—as it now fails to seize the opportunity to use brownfields and, in cooperation with the port administration, collocated port facilities to provide clean, sustainable, just power to the entire state of maryland)

warehousing them

dicktracy: when will you fix the faulty wiring
herniahernia: we might use some of the wiring to electrocute the roaches
dicktracy: the leaking pipes
herniahernia: they are imbedded in the concrete, as are the leaky gas pipes which poses slightly less danger
dicktracy: the rats come through the holes in the walls and ceilings
herniahernia: we are studying that, if convenient direct them out the broken windows
dicktracy: you could change the lightbulbs and keep the grounds clean
herniahernia: when we fix things they break, we’re saving money in hopes of destroying everything
dicktracy: it’s always cold in the winter
herniahernia: we’ve arranged to have milk delivered
dicktracy: can’t you just maintain working order, i don’t want to be in this war anymore
herniahernia: i won’t say there is nothing i can do

lexington terrace at sunrise
(lexington terrace residents protested unacceptable living conditions with a rent strike in 1993)

where has the ball been

how we hail shiningone near marketplace
in greenfields browntracks under deep blue
crack bat snap glove untouch threaded leather spiderlike in timejust
mindmuscle honor unworn
passing beyond fields seeminglory
descending in shadow rivers streams bayous puddles mud
with glowingother runners shooters
of blood dark serpentine onto paved streets
carrying loads of rubber steel petrol spectaclesoul.
shiningone glowingother meeting
swallow brownred nipples purplepink glans
beads of sweat electric lips
bodytouch mindgive
glowingother to stride in greenfields browntracks
sprinting hurling birthrite joyous spacegrave
beyond where roses fade

retro stadium at sunrise
(oriole park at camden yards opened in 1992)

hellrule

a soul is untouched unknown
just beyond the vast universe of space
in each synapse
edgeplace peerover lookinto
glorious light
clearly unpoisoned

abandoned houses at sunrise
(in 1987 the centers for disease control and the american academy of pediatrics called for removal of all lead-based paint from housing–the accepted safe level of lead in blood continued to be lowered)

hopeless dawn

poached eggs red beans with rice crumpets
rested steaming
wild fowl oyster clams terrapin ham rockfish hominy
lay hidden nearby
vodka in red juice gin with clear vermouth
waited chilled next to single malt
languid and super fit might have talked
team up and wood work and what up and hip hop
and weed and sameness and distortion and things are worse
had they arrived to sip and dine
before stacie discovered
widgeon is an absolute ass

drones at sunrise
(the maryland club at 1 east eager street opened enrollment to jewish men in 1988, remains closed to women, and is in need of donations to the maryland club preservation foundation inc)

fully lighted with fires

benjamin franklin butler camps in the warrens under federal hill
each day slowly in full uniform walks to the artillery
fires a shot into the heart of our city
our soldiers die east west southeast southwest
we have not surrendered
have not been destroyed
until we lift overhead our swords
then humbly lay them down
he pummels us like slowly dripping water

urban revelopment at sunrise
(a 1983 a civil rights commission assessment of city economic development recommended greater effort to foster black businesses, more equitable commercial lending, increased city contracting with black businesses, increased access to technical and management training for black community members, more aggressive corporate affirmative action, more relevant job training for unemployed community members, and immediate and concerted action to reduce unemployment—the mayor’s office responded that it was false to assume “that a government like ours bears sole responsibility for producing results”)

drawing out somewhere

cloud pillars etch lines around tired city faces
shadows push away from bright lights
moses uturns
myth hopelessly lost
pouring concrete into river of life
chariots heave gravel and sand
dry waters muddy land divide
children wall around pursuing encircles
sea becomes tarmac
aggregate of souls cast aside
and souls rotting iron in acid rain
flowing eddying promised hatred
some walk on utterly confused
moses, take the free way to egypt
command love and peace

uninterstate at sunrise
(I-170 was cancelled in 1981: I-595 was cancelled in 1983; route 40 continues to spread apart west baltimore)

landmayorcouncils

we had rats herding roaches
as we walked behind
west onto odonnell the rats saw a captains ghost and some turned back
the roaches were jumpy arthritic
couldn’t walk without limping
south of patterson the rats felt thunder around behind and more peeled away
the roaches were twitchy sneezing
couldn’t walk without staggering
crossing pratt the rats heard a funeral train whistle and most ran off
the roaches were spitting shitting peeled paint
couldn’t walk anymore
we scooped the roaches into jars and finished our walk
the mayor said he loved catching fireflies we should play more ball
the director said those are baltimore water bugs not the biting kind
so we hauled out broken floorboards and toilets and plaster and mud
and made them dance around the room until the council began to sing
magicheroics in uncitytoo

odonnell street at sunrise
(the baltimore welfare rights organization and residents annie rogers, rosaline lundsford, and others carried out a rent strike in 1978 to get long overdue maintenance for housing)