In a Time of Chaos

             —for Ralph Ellison

                  By Rudolph Lewis

We enter the year 2006 warily

geared to what is & possible

an outsider & a reliable gauge

of what it means to be black

& an American, carrying the

burdens of 2005—uncounted

thousands face down in neglect

& doubts of a shared humanity

We in this year 2006 cannot but

revisit for a moment what our

jazz shaped world might have

been without the sudden turns

shocks, the swift changes of

pace, the secret of what makes

life swing. Our creative struggle

continues, for us there are no

hiding places in this dynamic

nation of ironies. We in our

survival offer a  most stringent

testing, & our tireless presence 

a rare hope for human freedom

*   *   *   *  *

posted 5 January 2006