Sign Cannon
Child of Africa,
through twilight
we will lay, and
watch the stars
reappear amidst us
Rare feat
of this age -
I implore you
to entertain my breath,
as I sit
quietly -
to breathe you in
The commonest feat of this age
was the giving, but
in giving,
retreated the stars
The stars of our fathers,
guiding, watching -
providing souls
with fleeting glimpses
of existence
We exist in many selves,
each exists equal to the next,
and each is privileged by the next
My selves and soul
gallop on open plains,
muscles hardening -
and with strength!
Though charcoal sky or
lightning or
as if battling
the mind -
The gallop incessant!
Though stranger winds or
cracked sea bed or
darkened valley
- journey, exodus, or migration -
the gallop persistent!
Though lonesome,
though accompanied,
through the banyan tree,
I welcome all in gallop
Joyful stampede of identities -
The gallop eternal!
(To find one is to find all,
and I am searching)
Great migrations
of monarchs,
leviathans,
and songs
As if the charmed moon sang,
"move!"
Exploration etched into the sky -
as soul maps
Yes!
How necessary they seem now
Starless child,
Inhaling,
I explore my breath
Come closer:
I invite you to share this burden
Inhaling,
I explore my breath
And in repetition
I find that which remains
past exhalation
Come closer:
I invite you to share this burden
How petty of me
not to notice
the signs
How horrid of me
to waste these
21 years
(All they had given,
one thing they stole)
But you have my stars -
hidden amongst breaths,
as rain filters
into the city
A flowering of stars
fleeting,
and elusive -
silently demanding recognition
In night -
subtle night
caressing naked flesh -
I will recognise the stars
And in day -
powerful day -
I will recognise the rivers,
which are
the waterfalls, are
the ocean basins, are
the puddles, are
the city rain, are
surfaced finally -
by star-bound
vessels searching -
inexorably burning
bright along
the dusty, mad-path
sunbeam