This is the Year

This is the year we let love break

us open. This is the year we take

time to dream, ask questions and

trust that those we struggle with

will have the answers. This is the year

our faith in our fight

continues to deepen.

This is the year we set fire

to the rotten, diseased roots

of white supremacy and capitalism,

allowing our mycelium to

devour their decay.

This is the year we boss the fuck up.

This is the year we extend

irresistible invitations of care

and belonging.

This is the year we chase those crazy bald heads out of town!

This is the year we accept that educators

need to be and do more!

(Unlike Professor Dumbledore!!!).

This is the year we respond with

bravery, dignity and fearlessness.

This is the year we remember

to breathe, rest, and listen to the

ocean, the land, our ancestors and

our hearts for the ways forward.

This is the year we awaken

from this hypnotic, colonial, imperialist,

reactive, capitalist and patriarchal

nightmare, open our eyes and begin together.

This is the year we reach around

us to build our movements and therefore

change our world

into the community we want.

This is the year we build

bridges, rope swings, pathways

and rafts to propel us into the future.

This is the year we have a life with dignity.

This is the year we separate our cells

from the empire and return to

the loving soil. This is the year we

lose our chains and stand together.

This is the year we join together

as a movement of movements

for a world where we all have

the freedom to be.

This is the year we turn

our outrage into action and liberate

Palestine, Sudan, Congo, Kashmir

and all occupied lands.

This is the year we see radical

shifts in the world. This is the year we fight

our oppressors and not each other

so we can create thriving communities.

This is the year we return home

to our relationships with the living

world because it’s what we deserve,

and it’s how we win.

This is the year we believe in

our own worth enough to claim

the justice we deserve.

This is the year we eat.

This is the year we realize collective

liberation. This is the year we all work

towards the same revolution.

This is the year we show that

working-class “redneck” Appalachians

are an organized force to fight back.

This is the year

we remember

that we are the story,

not just the storytellers.