May Day

The CoOp
is a mini rally.
We could be the rally theme dorm.

Almost all of us were at the May Day rally/march/protest in some way or another, and we represented just about every component of the rally: participating, organizing, marching, banner-making, cooking, street medics (I was one of the street medics)...


I was reminded what I think heaven will be like:
A group of us were biking like birds in a flock downtown, already feeling so good traveling together.

I am often acutely aware of the strained and helpless distance between people, so when the celebratory ringing of a bike bell announced that a group of dormies and their friends were unexpectedly joining us from behind... and then we were all together -
- flying through the streets in a flock of bicycles, reunited.

I think heaven will have this kind of euphorically relieved critical-mass joy.


And at the rally,
scattered into our different roles,

we were still all together, and I could pick us out,

I saw my own beautiful family looking out from behind their bandanas in the black block, threading through the crowd with their cardboard machetes, distributing free carrot-muffins, as we gathered and then walked the streets during the march.



Now,
it's all I can do to recognize the eyes looking out from behind the mask swept along in the crowd, and to hold onto a faith in that humanity.
Then,
euphorically joined,
we will fly together on our bikes,
after being so separate for so long.


The ringing of that bicycle bell:
one of the most beautifully clear sounds in all the world.