September 2016 – Page 2 – sunrise in a small city

quarantine

enforced
great change in the physical aspect of baltimore
isolation
was brought about by the removal of the buildings along saint paul
limit
cleared into a series of sunken gardens
infection
elaborate stairways
into lonely places

lonely place at sunrise — (in 1914 a thriving, predominantly black neighborhood around saint paul street between lexington and center streets was razed as mayor preston innovated baltimore apartheid)

home sweating

just
laws made
taxes paid
more humane
more effective
wages salaries earned
votes cast
more informed
more moral
public served
children raised
influence made
knowledge gained
corruption reduced
influence weighed
work respected
viciousness wounded
because

lyceum at sunrise — (in 1913 female garment workers marched from the labor lyceum at 1203 east baltimore street, and boarded a train to washington dc to participate in the woman’s suffrage procession)

once and future plunderbund

trade laws enrich rich
commercial conspiracies menace from a twilight zone in nation-state
unreasonable campaign contributions corrupt
overissues of stocks and bonds suppress legitimate investment
favored banks exploit
wage earners rights regarded as restraints
special privilege interests absorb and waste natural resources
impure foods compromise health
imperialism experiments abandon values
special interests misuse delegated power usurp government
begin to begin to begin again

armory at sunrise — (the 1912 democratic convention was held at the fifth regiment armory on bolton and preston streets and adopted a progressive platform)

columbia

turrita marianne britannia
gleam of firstbeam
blood washing foul footsteps
conquer we must
awash in floodgates of wickedness and mischief
tea and toast and coffee

key at sunrise — (a monument to francis scott key in eutaw place at lanvale street was dedicated in 1911)

disternitopia

weeds along roads
taproots
through bedrock,
blame jesus.
or expect gated eternity.
or love without forgiveness

pennsylvania avenue at sunrise — (in 1910 the city council passed the first of three unconstitutional housing ordinances mandating segregated housing—giving up in 1917)

two antionettes

papa and i made a sèvolan
a bamboo krikèts back
joints turned round and hitched with digo thread
skin of silk from manmans maryaj sentiwon
special days it dansed in the van
in the sky with manman
we call it zwazo

papa said an òm fransè made a zwazo-sèvolan
named antionette like me
we went to see it on a very special day
piknik with taso bannann mamba and dous makos
and zwazo
we walked way up to druid hill

first we saw antionette over the vil
so small
we heard her like a marengwen
closer and bigger and bigger and byen fò
flying over our heads
prettier than zwazo
she circled like a lazy lò
then back over the vil

we are laughing still
in rèv i fly her to manman

from druid hill at sunrise — (in 1910 hubert latham flew an antionette-engine powered plane from halethorpe to fort mchenry, over downtown and patterson park, up to north avenue, around eutaw place then around druid hill park, then south, circling over 1217 saint paul street, over downtown and back to halethorpe–to win prize money offered by baltimore sun owners and also by ross r. winans)