Two Poems by Kai Coggin

Still (in two parts)

I.

I find myself lately using
the word
still
like
there are still flowers,
there are still trees,
there is still laughter,
there is still the silent moon
that watches our dark movements
there are still moments of wonder
that can take your breath and turn it magic
a lake freezing
the sounds it echoes from beneath the changing surface,
how nature is a constant source of abundance
despite how human our sorrow

still
still
still

as though something has been robbed
as though something is missing
that we can’t get back
desperately clutching for
what  we         let        slip      away,
a piece of humanity

a
peace
a
peace

peace.

II.

Stillness—

this is not the time to stand still,
this is not the time to be still,
to meditate,
to wait
to wish
to withdraw
this is the moment that we define ourselves
from the sketches we made on cave walls,
how have we grown?
eons under our feet
and still we cannot separate ourselves from
what breaks us apart?
what does evolution taste like
if not the shape of speaking out on our tongues
against the unholy wills of greedy men,
the mouth of protest against a demagogue,
the resistance and pushing back at every turn,

this is no time for stillness

this is no time for stillness

for what is still stays the same
and we cannot afford
this dark turn away from the sun
we cannot be still
in the face of a trigger happy nuclear thumb
we cannot be still
when the rights of women are reverted back into submission
we cannot be still
when the billionaires grow fat off the sweat of the starving poor
we cannot be still
when freedoms of the press are compromised and truth is a second class citizen
we cannot be still
when every movement he makes is a direct threat
to the decency that makes up our fibers as evolved human beings

they casted their votes on cave walls

but we stand in the face of the sun, we stand in our own light.

Without real leadership, the people will lead.
We are the people. We are still here.

100 days

it’s been 100 days
since america died
since the election that
marked the erection of greed
standing tall like a tent of shame
over our country’s promise of hope
did you even vote?

100 days
since lady liberty
split her head wide open
crashing through what she thought
was a glass ceiling
really just concrete and barbed wire
blotting out hope and sky
she marked herself do not resuscitate
don’t try to save her this time
no not again
no next of kin
except all women
in case of emergency
break glass
yourself

100 days
since an orange devil
and his team of angry men
raised their flags of hate legislation
and walls came out of the ground
suddenly we are a prison of americans
the systems we believe in all crumbled
while our thumbs tweet #resistance
but our hands are tied.

100 days
and how many ways
has he made us march backward into history
law and order first because black lives don’t matter
deporting our brown brothers and sisters
while their families shatter
raiding the dreams of dreamers because
only the cream of white supremacy rises to his twisted song
this is america land of the wrong

100 days
But how many years has he taken off mother earth’s lifespan
how many pipelines has he used as phallus to rape
her siphoned the blood of our planet into his deep gold pockets
the sky coughs
the oceans cry invisible warm tears into themselves
the rivers all rush toward each other to pray

100 days
how many icebergs are melting
while he denies that they are melting
says they are all his good friends
doing a fantastic job
they are bigly white cold and not sad!
icebergs have never done better before    ever
they are great
he made them great again

a polar bear drowns

100 days
how many scandals
how many spies
how many pussies grabbed
how many lies
how many executive orders with maniacal pen
how many bombs closer are we to humanity’s end

100 days
the longest days of our lives
but I know more important numbers

550
there are 550 days until the next election
where one by one
we will dismantle the red line of corruption
from every seat of power
from clerks to the circle jerks in the house and senate
and he will feel us coming for him

66 million
66 million held the popular vote for progress
we are at least 66 million strong
and after 100 days
our numbers are growing with resistance songs
∞
infinity because this is all part of some grand design
this is the final show of good vs evil
this is the friction
that creates the fire inside us
to fight for what we believe in
this is exposing
all of the darkness
before we
raise our vibrations
to become a planet of Light

550
66 million
INFINITY

focus on those numbers

Kai Coggin is a former Houston Teacher of the Year turned poet and author living in the valley of a small mountain in Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas. She received her B.A. in English, Poetry, and Creative Writing from Texas A&M University. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in Sinister Wisdom, Assaracus, Calamus Journal, Lavender Review, Anti-Heroin Chic, Luna Luna, Blue Heron Review, Yellow Chair Review, and elsewhere. She is the author of two full-length collections, PERISCOPE HEART (Swimming with Elephants, 2014) and WINGSPAN (Golden Dragonfly Press, 2016), as well as a spoken word album called SILHOUETTE (2017). Her poetry has been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize, as well as Bettering American Poetry 2015, and Best of the Net 2016. More: kaicoggin.com.

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