The writer presented this poem at the Jan. 7, 2011 meeting of the
Party for Socialism and Liberation in Los Angeles to commemorate the
52nd anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. The poem honors the
contributions of Ernesto Che Guevara.
Brothers watch me die
break away from exile
this marks our first step,
on a journey of a thousand miles.
The starry, starry nights’
in a potters impoverished eyes,
dreams but light years away
comes to life on these tiles.
To cover “the sacred path”
which still holds
footprints of the
faithfully righteous …
now serpent infested
the domain of fear and injustice.
But pass the valley of death
lies a luminous lawn
there I’ll wait with yearnings
should your sight ever dawn.
Shoulder to shoulder
hand in hand
we are to conquer
the battlefields
along side our potter
and with a new shade of dye
together we’ll nest
together we’ll fly.
Then if you should see me trapped
in a hunter’s lair
hey lonely bird
head for red sky.
I have died before
I will die again.
Toward my grave
I will fly again.
A downward flight
to release the rage
to free the pain.
A selfless attempt
to feed the grain.
Then tomorrow
at the hour of sacred reunion
I shall return
to blossom through you again.
Brothers, I love you much
this is our war, this is our march.
