Dear hummingbird,

The warden just told me it's April 3

Please, do not mourn me, if I fall

Long before you get my last phone call

       ~~~

Little sister, do you remember

That old apple tree, next to the sea?

You were five. I told you: "...close your eyes and imagine the future as a giant beehive"

       ~~~

Yes, I'm guilty as charged!

I've dreamed stars into life, at the speed of light

Always on the lookout for that faraway land

Where no child goes to bed hungry

         ~~~

That and only that, has been the bread,

The red wine and the true soul of my art

To the unbroken fighters among the humble

I dedicate my heart!

         ~~~

A homeless man was sitting on the sidewalk of a dusty town

It used to be called Sundown, way before the steel mill closed down

        ~~~

He handed me a letter,

"...It's for my brother. I beg of you, help him out

"He is in agony! His name is Shoeshine Anthony

"In prison they call him #409"

        ~~~

Meanwhile, somewhere in southern Alabama

A young boy asks his Nana to tell him one more bedtime story

Soon they'll be evicted from their house...

        ~~~

"I'll tell you a secret: though Ms. Time may fall asleep and the sun goes quiet

"Though some rivers may be too deep and the forests continue to shed their green tears

"There is music in the loneliest desert!"

        ~~~

In the beginning was a butterfly

It said, "let there be poetry" and dawn started singing:

"What is yet to come, will ever become"

       ~~~

Soweto, 1976: Mother Earth is in pain

A young student is about to disappear into the black rain

"Tell our son about the sea and that old apple tree

"If he asks you about me, tell him I took an early train to freedom"

       ~~~

Stand on my shoulders and look up to the sky

One day, the poor will fear no more,

The workers will conquer the world

True happiness will be a reality for all!

       ~~~

Dear Hummingbird,

Yesterday I thought of you

As I often do, each time Spring comes to life 

In the laughter of a cherry blossom...

       ~~~

Do not mourn me, if I fall!

Tomorrow will carry me beyond the horizon

If today is born out of love

And love belongs to the living.