IN POETRY
playing with fire
by Karen Georgia A. Thompson
Karen Georgia A. Thompson is a writer and poet who uses her writing as a tool of resistance as well as social and institutional critique. Her writing spans a variety of topics, often focusing on the pain of injustice and the call for justice. She is an ordained Christian minister and a practitioner of African Traditional Religions. She is a passionate advocate for justice who preaches and teaches globally. She was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. Follow her on Twitter: @SoNoNonsense; and Instagram: karen_georgia
Karen Georgia A. Thompson is a writer and poet who uses her writing as a tool of resistance as well as social and institutional critique. Her writing spans a variety of topics, often focusing on the pain of injustice and the call for justice. She is an ordained Christian minister and a practitioner of African Traditional Religions. She is a passionate advocate for justice who preaches and teaches globally. She was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. Follow her on Twitter: @SoNoNonsense; and Instagram: karen_georgia
A poem written in response to White supremacy on display in Charlottesville, VA, and to a history some choose to forget.
fire of terror
fire by night
hatred on sticks
O, say can you see?
burning out your plight
burning down our homes
hooded masks you proudly wear
waving fear to control
fire on crosses
fire by night
casting shadows on oak leaves
witnessing temples swinging
by the dawn’s early light
from these ancient trees
bringing torture and death
to what you tried to own
fire in your hand
flame missing from your soul
Black lives can not be bought or sold
fire of spirit
fire by night
ours is no forgotten dream
fire in our hearts
fire in our bellies
lift every voice and sing
at the twilight’s last gleaming
fire on lawns
fire by night
the neighborhood watch rides again
afraid of unarmed men and women
showing disregard for breathing children
good for your cotton fields
good for cleaning your floors
chasing lives on your terror rides
throwing cocktails at innocent doors
bombs bursting in air
the flag still flies
fire on streets
fire by night
bringing fresh terror to churches and Black lives
misplaced blame
still the source of your pain
wearing polo shirts and designer ties
whiteness the only hood you now wear
bringing your granddaddies’ fire games
attempting evictions by fire and terror
tiki torches burning citronella
fire of spirit
fire by night
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave
fire in our hearts
fire in our bellies
marching and kneeling
at the twilight’s last gleaming
KGAT
2:56
Cluk-Napoca, Romania
10 October 2017
fire of terror
fire by night
hatred on sticks
O, say can you see?
burning out your plight
burning down our homes
hooded masks you proudly wear
waving fear to control
fire on crosses
fire by night
casting shadows on oak leaves
witnessing temples swinging
by the dawn’s early light
from these ancient trees
bringing torture and death
to what you tried to own
fire in your hand
flame missing from your soul
Black lives can not be bought or sold
fire of spirit
fire by night
ours is no forgotten dream
fire in our hearts
fire in our bellies
lift every voice and sing
at the twilight’s last gleaming
fire on lawns
fire by night
the neighborhood watch rides again
afraid of unarmed men and women
showing disregard for breathing children
good for your cotton fields
good for cleaning your floors
chasing lives on your terror rides
throwing cocktails at innocent doors
bombs bursting in air
the flag still flies
fire on streets
fire by night
bringing fresh terror to churches and Black lives
misplaced blame
still the source of your pain
wearing polo shirts and designer ties
whiteness the only hood you now wear
bringing your granddaddies’ fire games
attempting evictions by fire and terror
tiki torches burning citronella
fire of spirit
fire by night
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave
fire in our hearts
fire in our bellies
marching and kneeling
at the twilight’s last gleaming
KGAT
2:56
Cluk-Napoca, Romania
10 October 2017