“Don’t never go to sleep on the
world, girl. Whiles you sleeping
the world scrambles on. Keep
yo’ eyes open all the time.”
Sonia Sanchez

The world is on fire
And we have sand and smoke in our eyes
And toxic particles in our lungs
People keep searching for quicker,
More powerful ways to kill each other
And then themselves

Our elders—the poets and peacemakers
The justice fighters and artists
The visionaries
And martyrs
Are with us still
We still have their shoulders
Upon which to stand
To make our way through this

It is why we know there is
Still a different way through
There is a better way through

They made those paths with their
Bare hands, with their
Marching feet, with their
Refusals to move out of the way
With their very lives

It is why we still search their words
Their wisdom, look to their actions
We put our feet in their boot marks
Which will never disappear

We know there is a different way through
There is a better way through


Author Bio:
Marie is a poet, writer, and playwright. She taught herself needle felting and is learning to play the Djembe drum. Her poetry and writing has been published in various places, such as Rebelle Society, The Mighty, Untitled, and others. Her poems were made into a play, “The Sanity Trials,” in 2018 by The Bridge-PHL, a Philadelphia theater company.

Marie is a vocal advocate for disability rights. She was a clinical social worker/psychotherapist for 30 years. She is from Philadelphia, and currently lives in an RV in the high desert of Santa Fe, NM. Her main inspirations are fighting against mental health and disability discrimination, the Almighty, Social Justice, and her faithful angel-service dog, Maya. Marie’s next writing projects may include creative nonfiction/memoir writing, as well as publishing a book of poetry.