If Major Tom Was Black

mama always said space was
no place for a man
that if god meant for man
to walk on the moon
he would’ve given us a home there

i saw a replica of a rocket ship
once when i was travelling through
huntsville, alabama
i thought about how the
first brotha must’ve felt
when he went up
he went so far into
space that he became a
blip on the radar
that he got as close
as he could to god
without prayer
the planets more real to him
than in any of those books
his mama chastised him for
reading

” only dreamers read,” his mama yelled
” and nothing ever changed unless
people took action,”

at least, that’s what guys like huey newton
fred hampton and eldridge cleaver thought

but space is the place for dreamers
who follow the hand of god
leading them to their destiny
who are not afraid to put on the wings
icarus made and tempt fate

to feel weightless is to become
lighter than god’s breath
is to float endlessly as a maple leaf
through all letters of the
alphabet
is to understand what jimi did
when he took sound and created
the 4th dimension

Erren Geraud Kelly has been published in numerous publication in print and online in The United States, Canada and around the world..Kelly is currently featured in the anthology ” Black Lives Have Mattered,” From 2 Leaf Press. Kelly received his B.A. in English–Creative Writing from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Erren lives in Boston.