During the 2022 Voqal Fellowship convening, Voqal was once again honored to have poet, Molina Speaks, document the meeting through a process called Live Scribe Poetics. This year’s poem reflects the cohort and the work it hopes to accomplish during its fellowship. The second part of the poem is below. See part I here.
—TOGETHER—
Time, Space, Tables and Chairs:
Collected Fragments of Dreams and Realities Part II
a Live Scribe Poetic Reflection by Adrian H Molina as inspired by Voqal Fellows 2022 Cohort
The Blueprint is simple: AMPLIFY POWER
at the base / by inverting the pyramid / and then re-envisioning
the pyramid as a singular connected line,
then the line…bent and curved
into a circle.
Diaspora stories matter.
Connections matter.
Authentic, independent voices matter
as we dismantle and unravel industries of fear
and terror.
We will ask as we design:
What is the future of journalism and the internet?
What is the future of farming and intergenerational culture?
What is the future of housing and services?
What is the future of business and ownership?
What is the future of beauty, culture, individuality, and unity?
What is the future of art, film, music and community?
What is the future of prison, and thus the future of freedom?
This is what we are here for, not only to interrogate, but to demonstrate
through agency and innovation. To elevate. to emerge
as freer versions of ourselves and our ancestors.
“Abolition means living without fear,”
and part of that, internally, means focusing on assets
and not seeing ourselves from a place of deficit.
We hold all the tools within these waters,
skins, vessels and bones.
You do not have to be a protestor or a firebrand.
You can come in any form. You need only to be a conduit
to bring your knowledge and your gifts.
We see all that is necessary.
We need to shut down the digital divide. Rewire the vibe.
What is the purpose? What is the math? What is the literacy?
As children of color are left behind, fighting for their lives,
fighting for their education, fighting for ownership and place
as they are shut out of the process.
The answer to the tech monopolies is The People’s Internet.
One answer to our obstacles is the Cooperative.
New networks are possible, and we are the wiring: the infrastructure.
Perhaps unexpectedly, we see that land and technology are intimately intertwined.
Practically, we can see that land IS technology.
Both re-pair and reparations are necessary.
We see the many holes in the storylines
like “there aren’t Black people in Appalachia.” (Wrong.)
We see that representation is essential
because when we are ignored and written out of the story
we are erased.
We refuse to be erased.
Learn more about the Voqal Fellowship and the 2022 cohort on our fellowships’ page.