Tag: Stephanie Hanlon

Territory

 

Longing souls, marking unclaimed territory

Drifting in and out of the periphery

Lost to history, neglected by those with power

Sifting through the hidden anger

 

Graffiti on historic walls on Church Street in Christiansted, St. Croix. By Stephanie Hanlon
Graffiti on historic walls on Church Street in Christiansted, St. Croix. By Stephanie Hanlon

Paint won’t heal the scars

Even when you’re looking at the stars

Taint the narrative, forge your own

Easel of our own design

 

Graffiti on historic walls on Church Street in Christiansted, St. Croix. By Stephanie Hanlon
Graffiti on historic walls on Church Street in Christiansted, St. Croix. By Stephanie Hanlon

Gentle strokes with blurred lines

Build up ghetto shrines

Gems embedded in the cement

Binge on the discontent

 

Graffiti on historic walls on Church Street in Christiansted, St. Croix. By Stephanie Hanlon
Graffiti on historic walls on Church Street in Christiansted, St. Croix. By Stephanie Hanlon

Hieroglyphs of the youth

Hidden messages beneath the truth

Heist words from a lost lexicon

Hingeless energy used as ammunition

 

Graffiti on historic walls on Church Street in Christiansted, St. Croix. By Stephanie Hanlon
Graffiti on historic walls on Church Street in Christiansted, St. Croix. By Stephanie Hanlon

Misdirected bravado

Sold as art nouveau

Mystique worth millions

Soberly placed under setting suns

 

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Survival

 

Unrest brewing, streets swelling, free flowing

Mothers, fathers, elders, fighters – sowing

Boiling point long past, deep breath, let’s go meet

 

Survival - Christiansted market watermill on St. Croix, VI. by Stephanie Hanlon

 

Nothing is left to lose, it’s time, rally

Strategy, hype, coursing through the alley

Jugs of water overflow, splash the street

 

Survival - Christiansted market watermill on St. Croix, VI. by Stephanie Hanlon

 

Prepare for the worst, but expect worse still

Heart pumping, fists are rising, not a drill

Just maybe, just maybe we will win

 

Survival - Christiansted market watermill on St. Croix, VI. by Stephanie Hanlon

 

Visions of taking over the mountain top

The vantage point of dominance atop

Fight until we can feel it in our skin

 

Survival - Christiansted market watermill on St. Croix, VI. by Stephanie Hanlon

 

Moist earth and grass between our fingers, toes

Gripping and clawing our way up, we rose

Meet us at the water well at high sun

 

Refocus, reinforce and quench our thirst

Water flowing in our favor, dam burst

Protecting us from the fire, undone

 

East to west, the wells nourish us, anchor

Cooling the fire within, the rancor

Stock up now, wet our lips, fill our bellies

 

Because this, this is a new beginning

Leave us all on the mountain top grinning

Meet at the well, low sun, tin cup marries

 

Cheers to the water that carries us through