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Poem in Which We are Safe
River 瑩瑩 Dandelion
you walk down the street & you are not afraid
you use the bathroom & you don't need to put your hood up
there are no NYPD officers patrolling subway stations
mocking silver turnstiles long bent to sculpture
you remember everyone has free healthcare
saunter to doctors for free consultations about surgery
you sigh because you remember dysphoria is a diagnosis
of the past you can now have multiple free surgeries
at your leisure change your name & ID's
until they fit snug you are never asked to sign documents
to verify you are not committing fraud
you love your mother & your mother loves you.
there are no more task forces on bullying [1]
we changed public education to ethnic studies
to restorative justice to body-wisdom
to remembering what it means to be human
the last president is trans & then, there are no more presidents
we lead each other council of youth & elders survivors
of abuse & incarceration map networks of care
value love & self-determination we self-govern
look to neighbors for de-escalation
chosen family for co-regulation
after the last prison walls closed
& were spiritually cleansed
the billions no longer given
to mass incarceration ended homelessness
stopped world hunger provoked peace
jumpstarted universal income
you smile at students headed to school
with shiny new backpacks put on sunglasses
passing renovated racetracks
glass-dome ceilings solar power stars
sunlight spills into windows during math class
shelter drills rumors of the past
there are no unprovoked fires no bomb threats
no armed shooters no guns no rain
of bullets ever-blooming flowers
fill train stations that once held death
you walk home knowing
you will always be alive.
[1] we turned from symptom to the root
delion.
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 River 瑩瑩 Dandelion is a practitioner of ancestral medicine through writing poetry, teaching, energy healing, and creating ceremony. As a poet, he writes to connect with the unseen and unspoken so we can feel and heal. As a healing practitioner, he supports clients moving through transition and transformation. River also facilitates creative writing workshops, where participants connect with their own inner and collective power. A Tin House Resident, Lambda Literary Fellow, and Kundiman Fellow, River is the author of remembering (y)our light, a debut chapbook on honoring matriarchs and ancestors across generations. River has facilitated healing workshops, trainings, and clinics at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, Restorative Justice Initiative, Lambda Literary, and Alliance for Quality Education. He loves to swim and does this work for queer and trans ancestors and descendants to come. For more, visit: riverdandelion.com.
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Be sure to check out River's poetry book: