.
She was born in favela da maré
slum of the tide
on the outskirts of rio de janeiro
alongside avenida brasil
.
once a meeting place
of river and ocean
home to the first nations
tupinambás
later to fishermen
dreamers
afro descendants
brazilians
.
houses were built upon the mangrove belly
in a time when thunder was the biggest threat
children would watch the tides dance
through rotten wood floors
as the waters ebbed and flowed
they quickly learned how things come and go
but their civil rights would take far too long
.
for now
all they wished was to go back outside
ball rolling on the wet gravel
bare feet over puddles
collecting mud under their nails
to bite off during thunder
.
i have always wondered
how many goals one has to score
between broken promises to make it in my country?
how many young boys have dreamed of a way out
if they played in the world cup?
who doesn’t love a story of glory?
the ones turning struggle into success -‘just do it!’
.
nothing fair about this game
the boys licking snot from their lips
never had a chance
surviving past thirty as best they can
.
after the waters had been drained
to make way to progress
palaphitas on the brink of collapse
gave way to cement and stone
the mangrove surrendered to the roads
.
storms aren’t a danger anymore
fear lives in the barrel of a gun
the crack it makes when it cuts through air
the way it only paints the pavement red
the emptiness it leaves in a mother’s chest
.
the official story always goes
he had drugs on him
he was carrying a gun
he ran from the police
one more shot here
one more dead there
who was counting them anyway?
one more body left in this alley
one less in a family
who was counting them anyway?
.
children still play soccer
still dream
within the line of reality and war zone
to kick goals for brazil
.
dreams
that taste like gunpowder
like revenge
like becoming a drug dealer
because you had never been given another chance
or being invisible
until you hold someone’s life in your hands
.
they call it war on drugs
while 500 kg of cocaine is found in a politician’s plane
while the police sells guns to drug dealers
and militias are connected to the president
.
every 23 minutes
a young black life is taken in brazil
killing more than the wars in iraq or syria
wars never won
like hers
.
Marielle Franco
.
born and raised in the trenches
watching criminals endorsed by the government
walk her streets like gods
deciding who gets to live
who gets to die
.
eu sou porque nós somos
i am because we are
she used to say
.
she didn’t run from them
she ran to them
hands lifted
not in submission
wrist raised in power
she touched the tower
of the untouched
.
her hands were ours
for an instant
.
the frail moment between
the finger and the trigger
between
the breath
the death
.
do jeito que suas sementes se espalharam
quando a bala atingiu sua coroa
the way
her seeds spread
when the bullet
hit her crown
.
.In memory of Marielle Franco – a black queer politician executed in Rio de Janeiro
on 14th of March of 2018.
May her seeds flourish and may we find justice for her.
.
.
- 115: SPACE
with A Sometimes
114: NO THEME 13
with J Toledo & C Tse
113: INVISIBLE WALLS
with A Walker & D Disney
112: TREAT
with T Dearborn
111: BABY
with S Deo & L Ferney
110: POP!
with Z Frost & B Jessen
109: NO THEME 12
with C Maling & N Rhook
108: DEDICATION
with L Patterson & L Garcia-Dolnik
107: LIMINAL
with B Li
106: OPEN
with C Lowe & J Langdon
105: NO THEME 11
with E Grills & E Stewart
104: KIN
with E Shiosaki
103: AMBLE
with E Gomez and S Gory
102: GAME
with R Green and J Maxwell
101: NO THEME 10
with J Kinsella and J Leanne
100: BROWNFACE
with W S Dunn
99: SINGAPORE
with J Ip and A Pang
97 & 98: PROPAGANDA
with M Breeze and S Groth
96: NO THEME IX
with M Gill and J Thayil
95: EARTH
with M Takolander
94: BAYT
with Z Hashem Beck
93: PEACH
with L Van, G Mouratidis, L Toong
92: NO THEME VIII
with C Gaskin
91: MONSTER
with N Curnow
90: AFRICAN DIASPORA
with S Umar
89: DOMESTIC
with N Harkin
88: TRANSQUEER
with S Barnes and Q Eades
87: DIFFICULT
with O Schwartz & H Isemonger
86: NO THEME VII
with L Gorton
85: PHILIPPINES
with Mookie L and S Lua
84: SUBURBIA
with L Brown and N O'Reilly
83: MATHEMATICS
with F Hile
82: LAND
with J Stuart and J Gibian
81: NEW CARIBBEAN
with V Lucien
80: NO THEME VI
with J Beveridge
57.1: EKPHRASTIC
with C Atherton and P Hetherington
57: CONFESSION
with K Glastonbury
56: EXPLODE
with D Disney
55.1: DALIT / INDIGENOUS
with M Chakraborty and K MacCarter
55: FUTURE MACHINES
with Bella Li
54: NO THEME V
with F Wright and O Sakr
53.0: THE END
with P Brown
52.0: TOIL
with C Jenkins
51.1: UMAMI
with L Davies and Lifted Brow
51.0: TRANSTASMAN
with B Cassidy
50.0: NO THEME IV
with J Tranter
49.1: A BRITISH / IRISH
with M Hall and S Seita
49.0: OBSOLETE
with T Ryan
48.1: CANADA
with K MacCarter and S Rhodes
48.0: CONSTRAINT
with C Wakeling
47.0: COLLABORATION
with L Armand and H Lambert
46.1: MELBOURNE
with M Farrell
46.0: NO THEME III
with F Plunkett
45.0: SILENCE
with J Owen
44.0: GONDWANALAND
with D Motion
43.1: PUMPKIN
with K MacCarter
43.0: MASQUE
with A Vickery
42.0: NO THEME II
with G Ryan
41.1: RATBAGGERY
with D Hose
41.0: TRANSPACIFIC
with J Rowe and M Nardone
40.1: INDONESIA
with K MacCarter
40.0: INTERLOCUTOR
with L Hart
39.1: GIBBERBIRD
with S Gory
39.0: JACKPOT!
with S Wagan Watson
38.0: SYDNEY
with A Lorange
37.1: NEBRASKA
with S Whalen
37.0: NO THEME!
with A Wearne
36.0: ELECTRONICA
with J Jones