A is for Asylum

Assata

do not dry like dissipated plums under castro’s bronzing sun

you mural fortress

you live memorial

spirited artifice

rouged sea salt that marinates america’s wound

 

Assata

you like stripped bone road unaware of which

exit is free birth  brown coagulated rhythm

redefined reborn rumba queen

Assata

dusk breath unaware of next exhalation’s destination

like a steel slingshot bullet that knows not its resting place  maybe

 

Assata

you are a maimed structure who refuses to die out

arthritic fist still clutches black power

and remembers the white man foot stomps mating with sternum

and ribs that deny shattering

 

Assata

i smell renewed blood thirst

the resurgence of hound claws

salivate your noosed neck

limp feet suspended over earth

Assata

the skin can not relive your turnpike eyes’ coronary chase

and dewy palms arched over steering wheel

 

i dissect this thoroughfare     glance the backstory

your automobile nightmare in review   i gulp this prison freeway

 

Houston, TX native, Ebony Noelle Golden, is a public scholar, performance artist and director of Betty’s Daughter Arts Collaborative.  She also serves as the artistic director of Body Ecology Performance Ensemble. BDAC specializes in creative workshops, curriculum development, cultural and performance art design for progressive social change.  Working nation-wide, her work spans creative, academic and community organizing spheres.  ​