Criminal Heroes

Witches’ ashes, plantation lashes
I long for the day the patriarch crashes
Our crimson history is a tale of misery
So the sorrowful plight of today is no mystery
Big Brother manages brown skin in bandages
Safeguarded wealth, badges with advantages

Oh, don’t let hope be a bad word
What if all the prayers for our children could be answered
By criminal heroes?

Greta cut school, she broke the rules
She said, “The eyes of all future generations are upon you”

Rosa traveled far, from bus to cop car
To every home in America forever in our hearts

Mahatma made a fist with salt and resistance
He was opening minds from behind prison hinges

Susan’s voice resounded, though her vote was never counted
She was punished by the law for having faith that moved a mountain

Oh, don’t let hope be a bad word
What if all the prayers for our children could be answered
By criminal heroes?

Let’s arm ourselves with poetry and song
Gather in the streets and march on
They can pin us down with their chains
But they’ll never stop the power of change

Let’s be the criminal heroes