Illustration: Wadsworth Jarrell, “Revolutionary,” 1971. Acrylic on canvas
UNAUTHORIZED
Tim Mills, 2014
For Gil Scott-Heron
You’ll not be able to stay home my sisters n brothers.
You gotta plug in n not turn away from one another.
You find yourself in a brand new bag
‘cause the change you channel is a bodacious flag:
The revolution will be unauthorized.
The revolution comes to you raw-boned n unwrapped my sisters n brothers.
Radio Free Rockefeller is ring-toned n booby-trapped by corporate muthers.
When the people declare a genuine eruption
their voices will orbit ‘round radical gumption:
The revolution will not be colonized.
At Circus Maximus we vie for the mud ball almighty
my sisters n brothers. Faced off with flunkies
of drunken elites born n bred in box seats
who’d smother mettle n delete every Dada drum beat
of our rebel-righteous fisticuffs.
With telephonic cans n string n apostolic
jazz of spring we’ll antiquate their stuff:
The revolution will be polarized.
That’s you stirrin’ the revolutionary brew gone viral
my sisters n brothers. Hear the hip cats purrin’
ever louder a pulmonary blues of spiraling druthers.
That’s you liberatin’ the load
of an overfed boll weevil n that’s you
agitatin’ with banty roosters
n defibrillatin’ the upheaval:
The revolution will be galvanized.
The raucous shot heard ‘round the world won’t
fire from the flash of fashion-conscious flingers.
That’s you paintin’ social grace ‘bout gentle people clubbed n maced
for bein’ rainbow singers n that’s you vaccinatin’ folks
who suffer vitriolic pokes from Mister Cat Scratch Fever
n that’s Lady Liberty you kissed her called her your sister
n said you’d never leave her:
The revolution will be humanized
The revolution will be super-sized.
Sisters n brothers, there will be no revolutionary re-runs.
There may be revolutionary sudden death by smart guns.
There will be no revolutionary time-outs ‘til we’ve finally won
‘cause the revolution will be unauthorized.