We’ll give them leather and feathers
Whatever gets their attention
We’ll give them drums and songs
To see how long they’ll wait
For us to turn angry
We work with unseen forces
Less a weapon with much less choices
Our answer to NO MORE. What now
Simultaneous exhaustion
And exhilaration
Determination thick as
Mineral rich soil negotiations
Not a mob, we are
Peaceful-loving people
We are the timber
Standing in the way
Getting ready for the grave
How close to death
Do they want us to come
Close enough to smell
What it smells like
We have the answers
And we’re showing you
Holding them up for your
Glowing hearts to see
Have you nothing to say
The women in their jingles
The fellas in their jackets
The elders in their blankets
And the children
Waving signs
“No More, No More, No More, No More”
Flags flowing like winter snows
Hands joint in a blizzard of solidarity
I see my people many shades of the same
We are the responsible incorrigible
Bravery in our veins fed by hunger
In our souls, writing love letters
In the snow and messages of S.O.S.
We are revisiting wampum
We are witnessing commitment
Not legislated by war
Or defense budgets
This is the People’s love
For the mother
The movement has just begun
Bring it in
Send it out
Walk it around
Sing it loud
Keep it breathing/beating
Resist the hate, keep praying
We are armies of good minds
Ancestor allies walk with us
Blissful ignorance
Sounds like holiday songs
On a Saturday morning
The same day she is starving
For her people
Starving for attention
When the answers are
Within and upfront
Protect, react, resist,
Protect, react, resist,
Protect, react, resist
So what can I do?
I’m going to fuck
With your money
I’m going to talk
To your children
Tell them the truth
And influence their reality
It’s not possible to love a country
And not love its laws
When the law says
A country is formed by
A council and registered
Like a baby’s birth certificate
Within the courts the same racist
place that makes the laws,
so what came first?
Is the U.N. knocking at your door?
Or the ghosts of those
who circle your abode?
Are you finished dreaming of bacon
Are you begging for protection?
Shaking under a blanket hiding
From your own ancestors saying
“don’t shame us”
Crossing the line — getting close
Closing the gap — moving in
Finding the light — standing in it
Making the sounds — painting in colour
Getting it right — taking names
Planning for the future — re-claim
Releasing the medicine — pounding the drums
Staying connected — stepping forward
Rooted in humanity — giving a shit
Reproducing history — recognizing equals
Slam dancing — gathering
Letting the answers find us
Saying your piece — providing
Helping the cause — craving
Stealing home — forcing the point
Attending to details — walking together
forward…
– Janet Marie Rogers