On the Women’s March

Honouring the Women’s March on Washington/World January 21, 2017

Winning freedom over the
Washington D.C. building tops,
every mouth of reason never stops.
Happy collision between
sidewalk steam and sky tears!

Cross over crowds, Chicago, my heroic home!
March on, Madison!
Safe steps, St. Paul!
Words carried away:
winged mothers watch ever so closely.

Elderly couple in metropolitan streets…
“This is what a feminist looks like,”
displayed on cardboards, dedicated to one another.

“Women’s rights are human rights!”
Cried the sentence of paper!
Seven continents…
snows of Antarctica, a blizzard of people,
their voices joining forces with the wind.

Fight like girls
with supreme firepower.
They watch over the skies and
sing tribal ballads in honor of
the “Verse of Equality:”
Somewhere past the horizon,
we make and cultivate history.
Delicate metal walls, smashed to pieces
with voices of solidarity and hearts.
For the sake of the peoploids,
we stand and march united or not at all.”

Much love,
much support…
the faces of beards,
the baritone voices,
stand behind them,
stand beside them.

Speeches on wintry podiums tell the
story that requires undivided hand holding.

Grandmothers of Courageous Growth,
you have left us a trove of the
richest legacy we could ask for.
Lend us no book to read,
for we carry the seed,
the key that others may need.

Mothers of Marching Ground,
let the instincts flow through you and
bring a necessary influx of walkers.
Gather children, build impressions,
the rock opera of the ages!
The epic poem of life!
The dance upon the conquering!

Sisters of Sincerity,
arise from the queendom!
No more time for hiding in the shadows!
They have chased you long enough!
Dance on hot springs of celebration!

Daughters of Devotion,
you underrated descendants!
Simplicity is the most complex trait
in the heart of children leading the
parade to a new utopia.

Nieces of Names,
we call you out in remembrance.
We read your messages on memorials,
palms placed on the walls of war.

Before the revolutionaries slumber,
stars of death step out to congratulate.
You were present on this momentary date,
putting an end to all unethical debate.

Photo Credit: bslax28 Flickr via Compfight cc

Z. M. Wise

Z.M. Wise is a proud Illinois native from Chicago, poet, essayist, occasional playwright, seldom screenwriter, co-editor and arts activist, writing since his first steps as a child. He is co-owner and co-editor of Transcendent Zero Press https://transcendentzeropress.org/ , an independent publishing house for poetry that produces an international quarterly journal known as Harbinger Asylum. He is the author of seven books and chapbooks of published poetry and a play, including: Take Me Back, Kingswood Clock! (MavLit Press, 2013); The Wandering Poet (Transcendent Zero Press, 2014); Wolf: An Epic & Other Poems (Weasel Press, 2015); Cuentos de Amor (Red Ferret Press, 2015); Kosmish and the Horned Ones (Weasel Press, 2018); Illinois Infinitarium (Cherry House Press, 2020); and The Nightmare Mask (TBD). His debut play, Bottles of Emerald for the Demon Queen (Transcendent Zero Press, 2019), was published in late December of 2019. His most recent chapbook of poetry, the mini-epic known as The Nightmare Mask, is searching for a brand new home. Other than these books, his poems, lyrics, essays, and book reviews have been published in various journals, magazines, and anthologies. Besides poetry and other forms of writing, his other passions/interests include professional voice acting, singing/lyricism/songwriting, playing a few instruments, fitness, and reading.

Written by 

Z.M. Wise is a proud Illinois native from Chicago, poet, essayist, occasional playwright, seldom screenwriter, co-editor and arts activist, writing since his first steps as a child. He is co-owner and co-editor of Transcendent Zero Press https://transcendentzeropress.org/ , an independent publishing house for poetry that produces an international quarterly journal known as Harbinger Asylum. He is the author of seven books and chapbooks of published poetry and a play, including: Take Me Back, Kingswood Clock! (MavLit Press, 2013); The Wandering Poet (Transcendent Zero Press, 2014); Wolf: An Epic & Other Poems (Weasel Press, 2015); Cuentos de Amor (Red Ferret Press, 2015); Kosmish and the Horned Ones (Weasel Press, 2018); Illinois Infinitarium (Cherry House Press, 2020); and The Nightmare Mask (TBD). His debut play, Bottles of Emerald for the Demon Queen (Transcendent Zero Press, 2019), was published in late December of 2019. His most recent chapbook of poetry, the mini-epic known as The Nightmare Mask, is searching for a brand new home. Other than these books, his poems, lyrics, essays, and book reviews have been published in various journals, magazines, and anthologies. Besides poetry and other forms of writing, his other passions/interests include professional voice acting, singing/lyricism/songwriting, playing a few instruments, fitness, and reading.

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