"“I remember that I’m invisible and walk softly so as not to awaken the sleeping ones. Sometimes it is best not to awaken them; there are few things in the world as dangerous as sleepwalkers.”
—Ralph Waldo Ellison

This is the Next Time. Prepare for Fire.

The grotesque fantasy of the shrinking so-called majority,
America’s nightmare, is slowly transitioning from
somnolent slumber to a waking state akin to sleepwalking.

America, for as long as it has existed, openly endorsed terror,
and rode the wave of fear that followed to super-powered dominance,
domestically and abroad.

To be clear, when I say “America,” I mean “White America”—the America
America sees, wants to see. Not the real America, but the ideal America.
The America that stated, equal “All men are created” while enslaving men and women
who legally counted 2/5 less than their American Masters.
America, the Beautiful, who “crowns” her “good with Brotherhood,”
but from sea to shining sea shoots down and locks up
young black boys and girls, men and women, with impunity.

This is the Next Time. Prepare for Fire.
America’s Nightmare is America waking up.
“Good Morning,” America says.
Good Morning America says,
“Good Morning, America.” Says,
“Good. Mourning America says you’re a true patriot.
Don’t let America die. Don’t let America’s death be in vain. Fight!
For America. This is
good mourning.
The black and brown bruises on the American Body
must be cut off, must be amputated
or risk infection spreading.
Sleep, America. This is an age-old procedure. Perfected.
Or inject local anesthetic, remove bruise. Move. Repeat procedure. Or
just sleep. It’ll all be over when you wake up.”

This is the Next Time. Prepare for Fire.
This is America burning. This is America: learning
this is no nightmare.
This is America waking up, realizing
it’s bruises have not been removed, may not be removable,
and trying, trying, trying to remove these imperfections,
or risk infection s p r e a d i n g,
this black becoming blacker,
this brown becoming MORE,
this body belonging to this mind that has perfected seeing itself
as pristine. This is America operating,
White America cutting into her Native skin,
excising what
does not belong, what she does not want to see.
Cut deeper. Cut
to the White. It burns, but it’s worth burning.
Not seeing it must be worth the price.
This
is America screaming: “THIS IS AMERICA!”
waking up.
This is the Next Time. Prepare for Fire.
The remains will be Black.

This is America on the brink of break—
ever aware of a two-ness of which there is a constitutional greater
and lesser, necessary evils that history won’t heal and
Hennessey won’t help,
darkness and lightness created in the likeness of
White God and White Jesus
who would rather see White America burn than see it turn
into what it already is,
what it always was.
America becoming awake, America becoming aware,
is America becoming so scared of what she knows she is capable
of doing to herself.
Dream sweet, America. Dream deep. Breathe deeper.
Now deeper. And sleep.
Sleep.
You were made from this.
You were made for this.
You were made by this.

You are on fire.
This is the Next Time.
America is burning.
“God gave Noah the rainbow sign,
No more water, the fire next time!”
—Quoted by James Baldwin"