Freedom Love is Revolutionary Love

This week’s blog is a poem from Community-Engaged Learning Program Manager, Jackie Ramos, that was shared with community and students at the Community Empowerment Activist year end celebration. Read Jackie’s piece dedicated to and honoring this year’s CEA cohort.

I could write a book about the beauty that exists in your being
But time is always a fleeting feat so I will recite this poem instead
And pray i do justice to the magnitude of your plight
which is one for the People
where DEI exists in real time
and performance is but the accolade after the action is met
That is who you are
You are fierce
You are strong
You are vulnerable
You are pure love in real time
You make waves shake
and chaos a grounding space to rest
Your rain births seeds
In the forgotten corners of concrete

You see that rose?

“Your existence is resistance” as Alicia—speaks power to life.

And we are living ancestral legacy in reverence as guests protected by Mama Earth
bare feet planted on the soil, we are rejuvenated—as Kailyn reminds us
That carry depression and anxiety and fear and isolation
Oh how the plants speak us when we rest
Is an offering Aniah carried each time she grounded us in the moment

We fight for justice and advocate for truth that begins with self
for how can we fight for the liberation of others when we are captives to our minds?
Our 4eva abolitionist, Isabel, taught us that.

ATY, Cole, Emmet
Ringing the sounds of disability and trans justice
we are all free when the most oppressed are free
Sofia, Sadie, Anika
Speaking of our God given rights that are not basic but essential to the essential
we demand housing, we demand accessibility, we demand being debt free
Harlan, Luis, Frances, Bri, and Aaron seeing borders as meaningless-–fueled by neocolonial powers of greed
when we unite bridges in the collective fist against the oppressor
that is when their knees crumble

We care not about annual reports, black squares on a given day, land acknowledgement without active solidarity with the First Nations
We hear you in the songs you sing with courage that sees vulnerability as an active partners, Mikalya and AJ

Joy is Resistance and there is much more than the eyes could meet the surface
Our brother Zach S crystalizes that into the cosmos
And the Tenderloin is as tender as it is meant to be

Reparations is active solidarity
How do you show up?
Enyolli, a fellow Frisconian walks in the Excelsior she calls home
Her trail is change that begins at the roots
And we meet you where you are at
Lexi can tell you that
Harm reduction reduces harm and ain’t that the aim we’re seeking for?

Because we build relationships as Julian profoundly returns us to the “spirit of the village”
Dismantling those Ivory towers
So we could look up at the sunset
That was captured in a moment that we can replay 4eva
Because of the gift that Aisha brings
And the youth are protected as Zach H shows—the power that mentors matter
And we are safe because we know someone like Jules, who cares beyond belief, is here to see us first-gens make it through

How we fight and we get up even when our souls question the purpose of life
For movement is liberation and it sets a wave in the universe that proclaims our existence to take space—do you see how Alana serenades us back into motion?
And Alaia takes us on a pathway of global solidarity from the shores of Palestine to Turtle Bay?

Vengeance is a heavy wrath on the forces of settler colonialism
We live in the fragility of breath and each moment is a chance to preserve our peace
Evelyn teaches as she speaks~
Knowing there is always something to be learned when our hearts are open
And we fight for life that unimaginable

That is what you all taught me
i am forever changed
And will live in gratitude
and if ever i forget my place i will return to this moment
i will remember you
For real love is radical when reciprocated in authentic places
where we can bring the fullness of our self
Without retribution or shame

Freedom Love is Revolutionary Love.
Freedom Love is Revolutionary Love.
Ima say it again, “Freedom Love is Revolutionary Love.”

We may physically move from this tangible moment.
But the intangible is what keeps us here.
Time nor space can separate us from love
And love is here because you are.

My prayer to you:
May we be free, healthy, happy, and at peace.
May we dream, create, rest, and stay re-imagining.
Until the imagining is something we wake up to after a good night’s rest.

You are 4eva my family
My community, who is active in power.
Thank you.

Hmm….

I could write a book about the beauty that exists in your being;
But I hope I did justice to what my reverence looks and feels like in honor of your presence. Thank you.