IDEAS//Forever

#MedgarEvers

photo courtesy of author

summer stars
concealed by sparks
from a front room,
tears singed
as wings of fireflies
push through
thick air of darkness —
who will light these humid nights
to starve these flames
forever,
mend our burned palms
so we can grow
futures
from the fertile ash
left beneath our nails
after singing
happy
birthday
twice?

how many happy
birthdays before
we realize that
it’s not candles
we smell?

You can kill a man but you can’t kill an idea. — M.E.
rest in power 6/12/1963