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Cynthia Dewi Oka: A Conversation With My Six-Year-Old About Revolution

Cynthia Dewi Oka reads a poem.

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Also see: Revolutionary Mothering

When three feet of sunshine missing two front teeth

asked me why do we need revolution,

all I had was a grenade in my mouth.

I held him for a while and watched him draw

clouds and trees and ladybugs and a house

filled with everybody he loves.

When was the last time we put to image

what we thought the world should be?

When did it become enough to know

how to promptly explode?

I said to him he was much better equipped

to figure out the revolution than his mama;

that if I don’t, he’s got to disarm this bomb

and throw it out the window.

‘Cause the revolution is not about self-defense;

it’s about self-creation, it’s about seeing farther

than the walls directly in front of us.

And my six-year-old has got a head start.

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