We mourn James Baldwin
crave his language, that
skewer pulpit of interrogatory
syntax. Writhe and
burn, baby burn …
syllables roast the ridiculous, expose the bloodthirst corrupt corpus
ya’ dig …
furious to unbury the treasure bone of our backs, all the tossed and thrown
the broken and misplaced, the stolen
and forsaken—
unbury that smooth ancient back bone now slick with riverdeep vein that crisscrosses land, from marshes through swamps, migrates bayous North to shanties and tenements, West to slot canyons
the sewn-in star held in song, in prayer
the Commons shall be remolded abundant and just—sandcastles for the Everyone,
our Native daughter, our Native son.
Zigi Lowenberg is a poet and co-leader of the jazzpoetry ensemble UpSurge! performing in venues from San Francisco to New Orleans to NYC and producing two CDs. A member of the National Writers Union (NWU), her poetry is published in “Healing a Fractured World” (Revolutionary Poets Brigade), “An Embroidery of Voices,” “After the Clouds, the Sun,” rabbit and rose, Writers Resist, Snapdragon, Dissident Voice, and Occupy Wall Street Poetry Anthology. She has written for the Narrative Paths Journal, the NWU newsletter, and her essay “Support the Edge!” appears in the book Creative Lives. Her current projects include: a hybrid zoom & video series documenting her husband Raymond Nat Turner’s journey as a poet; and her own short videos—visual jazz poems—collaborating with musician friends.(youtube.com/zigilow)
author’s photo by Mia Chambers
Lightwood 