Our Names
Sometimes, when everyone is asleep,
we rise quietly.
We open our windows, remove screens.
Bike. Skateboard. Ride into the night.
We meet in alleyways,
behind industrial buildings,
beneath highway underpasses.
Tonight, our backpacks are our shadows.
Tonight, spray paint,
an extension of an arm.
We are echoes passing through tunnels.
We are tree roots eating through dirt,
breaking through concrete.
All we want is the quietude of dignity
& our own names.
Whatever beauty exists, exists for us too.
StarsOcean.Wings of a dragonfly.
Tree bark.Wet earth.Breeze.
Whatever beauty exists, also exists
in our names:
de la Torre. Cabrera. Salvatierra.
[ ]. [ ]. [ ]…
Become a Sustaining Donor This September
Between the reemergence of right-wing red-baiting and Donald Trump’s use of the chilling National Security Presidential Memorandum–7 to criminalize left political organizing, we’re seeing McCarthyism reborn before our eyes.
This assault on democracy cannot be ignored or wished away. Resisting it requires bravery in the face of threats and repression, a steadfast commitment to the truth, and the unwavering belief that we can—and will—overcome this darkness.
We must have an independent media that sets the record straight, unearths corruption and abuses of power, and advances a politics of justice and dignity for all if we’re to win this fight.
That’s why I’m writing to you today. This September, The Nation needs to add 100 monthly donors to sustain our progressive journalism. Your contribution makes the next investigative report, the next truth-speaking column, and the next pathbreaking essay all possible.
I hope you’ll support our work with a recurring donation today. If you donate $10 or more a month, we’ll send you a brand new “Hands Off the Free Press!” sticker to recognise your commitment to our cause. Please, donate today.
Onward,
Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation
