IN TIMES OF GREAT UPHEAVAL, REMEMBER THIS
1632, London
Your grandmother’s grandmothers were thrown into prison
desperately heretical criminals who chose their own religion
while the archbishop had them starved, tortured, and questioned.
They prayed, they cried, they sang their way across the ocean,
and though they were banished, they bowed to no one.
1755, Acadia
Your grandfather’s grandfathers were forced from their homes,
bayonets pointed at the chests of their wives and children
while soldiers set ablaze the land they so carefully tended.
They prayed, they cried, they sang their way through the forest,
and though they were hunted, they bowed to no one.
2025, New Orleans
Now, as you stand before a man who calls himself king,
remember whose blood runs within you. Pray, if you must,
cry, if you will, and sing with those who sang before you.
Then, you tell him this: vas piqué toi-même.1
We still bow to no one.
1This is Cajun French for go prick yourself, which is used to mean go screw yourself.