This Is the Brawl
This is the brawl in which my life began
For I did not live, did not become a man
Until I could speak in the chaos of the crowd
Ran with smoky eyes
Beside the living love of a fellowman
While police dogs sniffed our heels
And bit the butt of our debates
Leaving only mangled arguments
About decisions being made for us.
Today in London I measure growth
In the fraction of our blood
That flowed more like rivers before
And always I remember the taste of salt
The natal blood on my tongue
God's own symbol of my redemption
Each time I am born
So this fire alone I come fearless
Of death, longing to be born again.
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