—“we shall overcome” Joan Baez, 1963
Some days my soul music is nearly silent
—barely whispers in the back rooms
of my perception, buried
by the cacophony of criticisms
and the clanking of shields rising.
But today my soul music is loud;
its verses and refrains reverberate,
beat down and up my limbs,
singing out we shall be alright—
as scripture, as promise, as invocation.
Today my soul music is full
of light, joy, community,
of dreaming into being a time of renewal,
of promise, of change—a time
when we at last shall live in peace.
But also today my soul music screams
in rage at injustice, in anguish at injury,
understands the risks of action, yet affirms
in the face of strident opposition
that we are not afraid. We are not afraid.
Because today my soul music
knows no fear—pulses deep in my heart,
in my bones, down to the tips
of my toes and fingers—believes, believes
that we shall overcome.
On days when your soul music is singing—listen.
Listen.
by Gale Naylor
Poetry by Gale 