Take a moment for reflection and meditation on the state of Austin, cities and urbanity itself as concepts and inspiration for civic lyricism in our corner for poets, Runes & Rhymes.
O holy martyr
when you crossed the river
to be beaten by
the state troopers of the Promised Land
O redeemer of Dixieland
when you felt the clubs touch
skin and blood and blood touch dirt
Today the statues float in rivers and finally the citadels of false reverence are beginning to fall
What does it say about us
that we are obsessed with protecting the statues of the long-dead
Cities, I wonder what you must have looked like to my grandparents and my great greats
when they steamed into Detroit from Hungary or New York Harbor from Russia and India