by Kellyn Gross
being battered but Unbroken
being battered but Unbroken is presence
standing at the squat pedestal of bygone King Sejong
standing on two feet in defiance of police protecting the Stars and Stripes
while some are wheelchair-bound
affirming that you don’t need to be able to stand
to stand for something
where badged spokesmen warn through megaphones to let bygones be bygones
under an altar of 300 Korean martyrs to the cause of social justice
their captured smiles in the muggy heat
burnt incense and sobs breaking silence
being battered but Unbroken is remembrance
unity in view of Bugak Mountain
where tigers once roamed in this granite fortress
protectors of the dead
ancient animal symbols of reverence and the summer sun
that gives way to monsoon rains in June
feared creatures by Hanseong citizens whose shamans called upon mountain deities
to banish them
only to be displaced dynasties later by the rains of empire and enterprise
protectors of capital
being battered but Unbroken is belonging
whether Korean Egyptian Libyan
Syrian Greek Turkish Brazilian
confronting shady deals disorder destitution
brutality austerity shopping malls
World Cups where the World’s Poor are cast aside
the oppressed on all continents solemnly vowing an end to suffering no matter the threats
no matter the rubber bullets real-deal bullets bombs and concrete prisons
there will be days of revolution
there will be nights of camaraderie and candor
being battered but Unbroken is power
not the ascendancy of Park Geun Hye or the lasting legacy of Gaddafi
not the brutality of al-Assad or the hegemony of Erdogan
but the prerogative of the people
when enough is enough
and a wave of disillusionment flows in
IMF refugees dismantling despotism
burdened hearts sloughing off layers of fear exploitation abuse
unmasking injustice
reclaiming space for healing and renewal
being battered but Unbroken is declaration
toojaeng shouted in Gwanghwamun Plaza
Turk istiklalini graffitied in Taksim Square
vem pra rua chanted in Sao Paulo’s streets
the spectacle of terror forced into a dialectic with reality
because this is bigger than any evening news program
yet the Dictator’s Daughter still promises economic democratization
and the Duck from Damascus declares that he rules by the will of the people
but citizens won’t be duped by lies or cowed by tear gas and stun grenades
their bloodshed by free trade and autocracy is testimony enough
being battered but Unbroken is sustenance
a daughter bound for Seoul City Hall in 1919 in 1960 in 1980 in 1987
her mother wondering if she’s eaten before she takes to the streets
the minjung movement of conscience with action
transformation in the factories and in the shanty towns
underground theoretics giving purpose deriving meaning
men chewing melon and sipping raki at round-table discussions in Ankara
hungry souls who mention that police will shoot people down like stray dogs
dehumanized and lionized in the same breath
they say the pain is worth the dignity any day
being battered but Unbroken is hope
Hyundai workers atop 50-meter pylons han at life’s core
struggling and yet envisioning a just horizon beyond dispatch employment
Greek public servants on a 24-hour strike debt servitude to the troika
halting flights to offices in D. C. in Frankfurt in Luxembourg
societies sold to the highest bidder
societies torn down and awaiting rebirth
but the people battered but Unbroken
they have spoken
