a community safety ritual: write down or bring to mind the names of those you commit to protecting, specific names, and targeted groups of people. it can be a long list or a short one, it just needs to be a true commitment for you.
it is our turn to carry the world
we are each other’s safety
right now, and every day
decide who you will protect
yourself, your own and who else
it’s time to cover all that we love
land, creature, place, person
intertwine your roots with mine
in this way our lives become miracles
there will be strangers
they will become comrades
we will each say our needs
we will learn to let community come closer
every part of us is a shield
our words, our trust, our hearts
our bodies in action
and the freedom to think for ourselves
we are the adaptation
no oppressor can imagine
our love is water – form-shifting power, river, vapor, life
we flood each other with belonging
we are building our stamina
we dream of the real world
we carry god, and see god, in each of our faces
your holiness is not too heavy, not for me
our attention and courage
show us the next stand to take
the next hill on which to hold each other
and if needed, the next hiding place: survive!
our imagination and memory
find the wisdom of our ancestors
find our future in the rubble
find the seeds in our songs
we choose our freedom
we keep each other’s souls intact
safer than any cage of empire
we know something better is coming
we are each other’s safety
we see each other’s freest selves
we will hold on tight, in public, in private
over and underground
and we will never let go
we will never let go
we will never let go
we will never let go
now take that piece of paper and memorize it – that is your spell of community safety. when you have it in your tongue and bones, bury it into dirt you love so the earth holds this commitment with you, with us.
axé oooo, ameen, amen, aho, and so it is