SKYWRITING ON CLUTTERED SIDEWALKS
MUSA TURNER
Ancestors send constant signals in passive places
And the first selfish face to perceive them called it ghostly;
Living novels carried through the wind
Recounting stories of untampered dance and lengthy
Regurgitations of tragedy that taught the living how
To mend the space between an open wound.
Everybody bleeds, and a synonym for ghost is the aimed detachment from
crimson cries,
The kind of speech that hands out bars to remedy a flood's aftermath,
Presses hands against hoping heads, with the intent
To rot a dream.
Ancestors send constant signals in passive places,
Their passions coming through in solemn pieces,
And untamed temporalities that tap out rhythms
From now buried and branded havens where life was still precious,
And I’ve since been sent through skywriting on
Cluttered sidewalks that resistance is continuous and spiritual,
Pouring out chrysanthemum and iron crusted blessings and critiques,
Inscribed by each hand, and memory, and aether,
And prison smuggled pen, to fight unfit manifestations of what it means
For everyone to be free.
|
Musa Turner is a black second-year undergraduate student majoring in Interdisciplinary Computing and the Arts with a music focus. Originally from Denver, Colorado, he has been making works of creative writing throughout his schooling including a published chapbook and other pieces of poetry. Especially since coming to UCSD, Musa has been more involved in Abolitionist studies and practices and hopes to continue to contribute to the spread of its messages. In his free time, he enjoys making and listening to music as well as playing basketball, and eating good food.
|
ON WHAT IT MEANS TO BE KALEIDOSCOPED
to me maybe means to see the world for all the color and perspective that it possesses and move with that in mind |