Wither On The Vine

Something to survive
Decades of murder and maize remind
My every night
I wrestle with the thought of their return
To what will we owe our next relocation?
Tenants to their reevaluation
Of the ever-emerging “threat,”

We wither on the vine
I rise; it does not shine
In darkness, we’re disappeared
Still evening falls

I hope my boy, he never understands
How the fields were fertile where the planes now land
The road kids walked to school
Now runways carrying the tools
They’ll use to keep them down

As they wither on the vine
I rise; it does not shine
In darkness, we’re disappeared
Still evening falls

How we wither on the vine
I rise, but it don’t shine
No, it don’t shine
I remember the path that linked each home;
Though the road was narrow, it was ours to walk
You had no right
You had no right
And you still don’t