Charleston
June 18, 2015
–For John Due and Patricia Stephens Due
And the 9 Homegoers at Emanuel AME Church
Because I was hurting and knew he was too,
I spoke to my 80-year-old father today—
The man who served beside my late mother in
America’s undeclared war on Her Own,
Whose heart sped in Florida and Mississippi,
Whose daily waking world is retold in my history books–
And he was too busy to talk,
On his way to a meeting,
Going about his business,
Because he knows Freedom is a journey,
Never a destination,
And because the Movement toward liberation
Is what keeps his heart Alive.
© 2015 by Tananarive Due
