by Sonia Sanchez

I’m gonna Stay on the battlefield 

I’m gonna Stay on the battlefield 

I’m gonna Stay on the battlefield til I die.

I’m gonna Stay on the battlefield

I’m gonna Stay on the battlefield 

I’m gonna Stay on the battlefield til I die.

i had come into the city carrying life in my eyes

amid rumors of death,

calling out to everyone who would listen

it is time to move us all into another century

time for freedom and racial and sexual justice

time for women and children and men time for hands unbound

i had come into the city wearing peaceful breasts

and the spaces between us smiled

i had come into the city carrying life in my eyes.

i had come into the city carrying life in my eyes.

And they followed us in their cars with their computers

and their tongues crawled with caterpillars

and they bumped us off the road turned over our cars,

and they bombed our buildings killed our babies,

and they shot our doctors maintaining our bodies,

and their courts changed into confessionals

but we kept on organizing we kept on teaching believing

loving doing what was holy moving to a higher ground 

even though our hands were full of slaughtered teeth

but we held out our eyes delirious with grace.

but we held out our eyes delirious with grace.

I’m gonna treat everybody right

I’m gonna treat everybody right

I’m gonna treat everybody right til I die.

I’m gonna treat everybody right

I’m gonna treat everybody right

I’m gonna treat everybody right til I die.

come. i say come, you sitting still in domestic bacteria

come. i say come, you standing still in double-breasted mornings

come. i say come, and return to the fight.

this fight for the earth

this fight for our children 

this fight for our life

we need your hurricane voices 

we need your sacred hands

i say come, sister, brother to the battlefield

come into the rain forests

come into the hood

come into the barrio

come into the schools

come into the abortion clinics 

come into the prisons

come and caress our spines

i say come, wrap your feet around justice

i say come, wrap your tongues around truth

i say come, wrap your hands with deeds and prayer

you brown ones

you yellow ones

you black ones

you gay ones

you white ones

you lesbian ones

Comecomecomecomecome to this battlefield

called life, called life, called life….

I’m gonna stay on the battlefield

I’m gonna stay on the battlefield

I’m gonna stay on the battlefield til I die.

I’m gonna stay on the battlefield

I’m gonna stay on the battlefield

I’m gonna stay on the battlefield til I die.