REBEL HIDEOUT
for all my students at Class Academy,
Long Branch, NJ, 1999-2001
here in the garage
with its gasoline odors
cold air, unmopped, unswept
floor (i sweep it when the
broom is around).
here with the walls, the
partitions covered with
student artwork, with plants,
drawings of robeson, ginsberg,
kahlo, drawings by boticelli,
blake.
we are here.
the rebels.
the brightest of the bright.
with our hopes and dreams
in tact.
damaged, yes.
hurting, yes.
deterred, no!
they circle this room.
take down our flyers.
they have locked us out.
they have reported us.
they have, by now, stopped
paying us.
no matter!
no matter, we say.
we will read literature.
we will paint paintings.
we will watch excellent films.
we will have fine discussions.
we will reveal our thoughts, our
feelings, our characters.
nothing you should fear.
unless you are cowards
and sneaks and imposters.
then, yes, you should
fear us plenty.