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Our Echoes Be Bloom

By Poet-in-Residence Mahogany L. Browne
 

 

Rooted in the tradition of jazz, swing, and the blues
Knee deep in possibilities
Whenever I begin to mourn over a country
that has forgotten the weight of my citizenship
I remember the necessity of summer’s kiss
And how it reminds us of the opportunity to fall in love
Again
So, here friend, here
within this oasis of a gentle sound
within the arms of creative consideration
We remember the shrinking villages
We remember the pandemic
We remember the war
And how love never keeps score
Rooted in radically healing and protest
Steeped in arched brow hierarchy of family, reality, and intelligence
We find solace in legacy
dancing under disco balls the night sky silent and jealous
We mariachi identities like a future so glorious and evolving
It grows insistently difficult to deny the beauty of this queer
and immigrant and disabled and sustainable living
swirling between fabric of our own colorful reimagining
Look how your hands stretch in front of the sun
Look how we all become the sun if we can block the nation’s hubris
You belong here, friend
And we belong to each other

The violin strings and pointed toes
The B-Girl stance and the line dance
The book fair and the dystopic opera
We surround our own dreams
This garden within a city of steel
This home to millions of yeses, and I do
This land of bloom and bloom and your echo
Is clear and beautiful
If you listen closely enough
You can hear it whispering
Come home, Come home
The door is wide open