Poem by Chris Robbins

A Dash of Red in our Blues
for Alice Walker

A compassionate herald
of democratic womanism
adds a dash of red to our blues
to form the color of balance
the color of fragrance,
the color of unity.
She inspires us
to pull hard-earned lessons
out of devastating avalanches
we just painfully
crawled out of ourselves;
then we can, hopefully,
pull out others
trapped beneath those harsh fallen rocks,
such as Middle Eastern women
crushed under hijacked faith,
disabled souls
made to believe they’re damaged,
and our four-legged friends,
like chickens and cows,
because animals are decent people!
Our compassionate herald
inspires us to move and sway
in dances of fury,
to challenge the oppression
of demonic injustice,
dances of love,
to nurture beyond
the limits of description,
and dances of willful determination
to restore the rhythm in life.
Nourished with the joy
of these enlightening rituals,
we can forge ourselves
in the fires of maturity
and cool down with the waters of wisdom
so we can nourish and cultivate
the fruits of tolerance and supportiveness,
just like we plant our green beans
tomatoes and strawberries,
and pull out the choking weeds
of past resent,
inflated self-importance
and other self-defeating lies
we learned through centuries
of gazing through filters
of murky obsidian.
Thanks to the influence
of the one who guides us
with the firm and gentle
power of the color purple,
we can tear out the plantation,
plant a garden in it’s place
and rejoin
our passionate reds
to our soulful blues.

“Aspie Chris” Robbins has been writing poems of racial and gender equality for 30 years. In 2007, he learned that he has an autistic condition known as Asperger’s Syndrome, and has dedicated most of his poetic career to raising awareness of this condition. He is happily married to his sweetheart Julie.

Jamila Ouriour is an American Arab who has resided in Massachusetts for nearly thirteen years. She participates in several open mic events and writers groups.