The Anti-Authoritarian Call and Response: Poems by Bill Marable

Unscheduled Departure

Reservation for three
Immigrant mother — illegal
two children, US born.
Booked by ICE
Baggage Check
Mislabeled “undesirable” —
Fragile, mishandle without care
Check In
Human cargo, hip chains
Leg irons bound to flesh
Gate 47 Now Boarding
“You are Unclear for Takeoff”
Departure
Sky ships set sail
Rogue cargo on ICE
Stripped, strapped, secure
Destination TBA

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The Weekend

Bill Marable is the president of the Griot Collective of West Tennessee, a poetry workshop in his hometown of Jackson, Tennessee. A recipient of the esteemed Jackson Arts Council’s Creative Support Grant, his work has appeared in The Coffee House Letters (Lambuth College), The Skinny Poetry Anthology (Cherry Castle Publishing, 2019), and most recently, The Pierian Literary Journal (Albany State University). In addition, he has amassed a number of “Honorable Mentions” in poetry contests locally, as well as on the national level: the 2019 Nubianpoets.com National Poetry Month Contest, Jackson State Community College's Spilled Ink: 2022 Edition, and several appearances in the Detroit Writers’ Guild, among other notable achievements.