This is a call to action
Whatever action you’ve been sitting on like a bird in the nest
It’s time we hatched our hearts and let our love fly
Because our bodies aren’t getting any younger
But our souls are
They have been wound up so tightly they can only tick backwards now
And when they get back far enough, it will be time to wake up
This is a call to action
To shake the bed bugs from your dreams and the dust from your will
To realize you will learn more if your nightmares come true
This is a call to being
Because love is not an action but a state
Like Michigan, Ohio or Massachusetts
Boxes with invisible fences that it’s time to take the hammer to
Because we are not New Yorkers, Dallas Cowboys or Bostonians
We are teachers, all of us
Just because we have more lessons to learn than to give doesn’t mean we shouldn’t share our stories
We all have gifts to give and sparks to ignite
This is a call to action
Not reaction
A call to love someone who is impossible to love
To show love to a stranger
Because a stranger is just another person
Guided by their heartbeat like a metal detector
We need only listen to find the gold
I’m not talking about money
Pieces of paper and metal cannot save you when you’re drowning in the times
And speaking of the Times
Newspapers can’t save you either
When all they are is a paper zoo
Judging and condemning people driven mad by these moments in the cosmos
Declaring them animals to justify locking them up in cages
I’m not saying they should walk free
But every living creature should be free to be what it needs to be in each moment of growth
Free to stretch towards the sun or to curl in on itself like a willow tree
And weep for the world
This is a call for freedom
But we can only find room to breathe if we are willing to share our breaths with others
Tying ourselves to the Earth is how we may finally fly
This poem is just a slideshow
Filled with snapshots of a world where we don’t slam to discourage
We slam to empower
To find a message behind every metaphor
To fill our poetry with a purpose
To make words worth fighting for
Or even better:
Words worth loving for
Right now only needs you to be complete
So I call on you to show up
We are responsible for the voice of our generation
We are the wordsmiths with the power to craft the vocal chords of change
And from the throat of our powerful pens
I call you to action.