BATTLE SCARS

what is the meaning of independence day to the more than two-million incarcerated…a day to dance with brutal irony–a day to feel the burn of being isolated…some wounds never fully heal–leaving searing pain waiting in the wings…some scars send their roots deep–welding mind and body into a tortured being…in every jail cell the survivors of criminal injustice make their mark…carving names into wrought iron beds–leaving echoes of jackson pollack on the walls…our current regime aims to amplify this criminalization–to deport thousands of immigrants–to purify the white nation…last fall thousands of prisoners came together to strike…we must build solidarity with this resistance–and build the movement for black lives…battle scars cut deep–for the indigenous or trans–for the brown and black…the scars of never-ending trauma brand like lashes on our backs…but once recognized, scar tissue can be fertile ground for healing–we turn our pain into power, as community fuels our cosmic convening…scar tissue marks our past, but it can also mark our future–we can gather strength from old wounds if we relearn how to love and to nurture

–BYPO PHOENIX c) 2017

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