Paroles Momentary Algiers

Momentary

Where we’re from
We’re born out of a cloud of witnesses
Who watched or walked through cotton-rich
Swamp-sick streets
Clamoring for freedom
Who snuck along the piny margins
Meeting under the moon and moss
Just far enough out of sight
Of the white columns and
Patrolling guns
Laying out plans at the feet
Of the stars
Looking upward for a glinting nod
A beam of dusty light to mark the way
Put us under
And when
The moment is passed
Slowly bring us back
And if it drags on
No need for alarm
Disconnect us
This is only momentary
Swayed into a trance
This is just monetary
We are all so innocent
Take your pleasure or pain
Whatever you lust
It comes right to your door
Except if the messenger
Dare show his face
It’s yours on a platter
This is only momentary
Flay us for our skin
This is just monetary
We are all so innocent
And dumb
When we die
The neighbors will bring casseroles
Drag shows will be held in our honor
Prayers will be shuttled upwards
Like paper boats slipped up onto a pond by patient hands
Fluttering in clouds of stars
And interstate exhaust
In Urdu
In Muskogee
In Spanish
In Somali
The community centers
And union halls
Will swell with songs that were old before we were born
The marchers in the boulevard
Will take their knee
Raise their fist
Drop their face
Silent in the midday traffic
Like a stone in a quick river
When we die
Our beloved
Our kinfolk
Fear not
We rise