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Reflections On Sunday

Reflections On Sunday image
Parent Issue
Month
February
Year
1971
OCR Text

Sounds that come from the soul are always the same

free

open sounds

giving

the kind that reach out

and touch

that's what our sisters did/minimum

touching maximum/sharing oppression

and the wish for its

removal...

feeling those sounds

seeing them felt on others

watching faces smile

really smile for the first time in months-

getting high-on the natural power of the

people to resist/to smile/to laugh/to sing

shout/love/give

even here...

wild hair/funky guitars

long hair-funky voice (some said Bessie Smith came to mind)

hair-all lengths, legs, arms, music

SISTERS-and us...

raggedy  pea coats, cotton dresses, rocking,

swaying,

screaming

enjoying it-

crying too-even if not too many

let the tears fall free

...us-black/brown/white/poor-SISTERS-

and it was all a total exchange

of energy

communication

even if we did not share words

we all knew their soul songs were saying

we understand

we know

we can see

what amerika is doing

to you-mother/daughter/child/woman

of oppression-

we can see, they sung-

and our voices answered their guitars,

horns flute-voice-cowbell-tambourine demand

for freedom with an unspoken right-on

...a feeling that one day-soon-

all people will be free...and

we left

stronger

able to smile (for a moment)

till we returned to rules that degrade

schedules that destroy sanity

racism that they cannot see

sexism that rapes us of our womanhood...

and the locks, keys, windows, walls

threats

warnings

bribes that hard our hearts

and chain our souls

the time

must be

seized

venceremos!

 

Erika Huggins

Niantic Concentration Camp

Conneticut

 

This poem was written shortly after an all women's band played at Niantic.