without the car wrapped around you, where you can be what you are. walking water. that gently laps. i have come to you this midnight and lane down in your black body with it's soft red blush and pulled the starkly blue cover over a cheek or moon blushing through the midst. and the final for me. juna. that's juna bomb. that she lived on board avenue. 3 blocks away from the street isn't bronx i grew up on. just what are you getting out

june abonus, that an alphabet, i would be visiting on a masterpiece and writing a bistro of poems. scones. 47 years later. she has long since ash, the world has become unmitigated cash. a woman gazing into the face of a cell phone. i gave me lover a cherry and lived on. endure these bitter hips and hot heads and the empty collapse. night will still holdup after

all these years. summer snap. >> virginia tech. the loner is here. the one who stopped listening. the one with the hidden fuse. with the fist. with the hole in his heart. with the cool guns, the one who blasts away. who kills just because. who kills as well because there's nothing left but the dead. kills himself. suicide on top of all these kills and now you know, what a mar gin in old baghdad in the

wrong place at the wrong time why you're mourning is going in one ear of the deaf tomorrow. and out the deafening utter. air cane. one, the sorrow these many months isn't because celebrities put eyes all over my body as i was in the u.s. again. not the other america. it comes from the footprint of a kick stab in my back. got riding a bus to a reading with some really destitute

brothers and sisters in a 16, 3 office space. i am sitting in the rear of the bus reading a translation of the book of the concealed mystery. my eyes are risen from a black woman standing and talking on her cell phone. i voice decibeled, latino black and white workers. when i arrive, i accidentally grace her sleeve with an excuse me. she pushed me. shouts don't touch me with hate red and what the hell do you think you did to me.

the eyes coiled and in denial or at once and set to spring. when my shoulders i bear a gentle but insistent arms and turning from a black man, you don't want to go here. here's your stop. he leads me to the stair well, but no sooner do i begin descending when i feel myself hurtled down my a kick to my back falling and landing up a level on my feet as the door closes with a snicker and the bus pulls away. from my amazement what they do, the latina asks in startled

urgency on the sidewalk. and home wards make me realize, i am 72. for the first time in my life. 2. one could i suppose chaplin it a way. how for no reason suddenly one is popped or clobbered with the cane. kicked in the ass for a slap stick for silence. but it just happens, humiliation sounds very depth. just happens, a wound knows no depth of time and not so random is the karma of lungs breezing

arkayicly. i didn't know the volatility of the hatred, i could only think dike. but if you prophecy be true that it will be reasoned. and reasoned must find it's violence in order to be for violence is the memory a horror carried by the soul of the blood to sect. she, a violent of resistance is also a violence for, if she

said or of me. why not take all of me and shove it up your ass because you can just about sit with your lips. because i am inside you now in violation of you and are american filthy crumb of a loaf of people. i am here and everywhere. no matter how hold you will always be the snot nosed with the shame spread over your brains from a rumble doubt of gang bang wooden zips where the real thing went down on haight then ran in torn threads of a

dead dawn to bring hot rolls and milk to 2 kids in a dump near palieu. 3, chalk it up like the gutters and walls of our breaths. between tilted ties singing the day is night and the night moves inside this long, lonesome bread of glues. don't climb to the top. you can fall in and we'll never again find you. so many come at the midnight

taint. paint the world where the sunshine aid ain't. go back to what beginning? a serial suck. a kick in the butt. oh, derelict devil in this hell's night. stay carton. be full of disstress. you can pull the race are card out of your hat. see the mother of memories. the ors slide of the richness. know and your can't pull the race card out of the-bra

neither. if she pushed you and kicked you, curse and spit you who touched her raped her mother and grandmother. you can't do this . we the thunder that never stopped shaking rooms. we are born to hate. hate. learn to hate. was wife and then that white didn't mean. or shinola. just meaningless. feeding the rebirth where i be. i and you be. you and nothing will ever be

between, but tragic race disgrace. cause you and i are on 2 to be slaves. black and white. that's why. the consumer trees grow long, long limbs. there's money in rape and murder. bloody blood talk. war though. war duh. everyone riding hump back in their own dodgy. be and w. you noted stake of a putrid

clan of worms insane and greatly dangerous. put your sincere hatreds and stupidity away. come together from under the skin with where soul is blood and beneath the sea and rise the wave and the furl class. and money tyranny and be what revels that has to be.

[applause]. >> i will read one more poem. and i will read it, it's a title poem. all that's left. all that's left in the world. whether in cuba venezuela, bolivia. as well as in china, japan, the united states europe. the middle east. africa. all of them cannot despise their resistance. despite their refusal stop that march of death. despite their

resistance. communists repressives. zionists and anarchists. none can evade the march. this one is not coming with hammer and sickles . all wars surrender to. but when comes the cry? when will it really happen as death is peace? when can i truly die.

you will never know yet you may have already and this life is your way of paying hommage to the power that loves and you left you with the taste of immortality on your lips. nothing mystical. no cries. power, your way. or buddha in the wings. even lying on your back, you are mocking. this is not a cynical, or pessimist or neonnist poem. join deaths to your life and you will live as if there 1

drum to march to. there is no march at all. you are there. all will be well for all. [applause]. >> >> >> >> >> thanks, everyone, for being here. i will be introducing todd,

joanne, and randolph in a moment. i want to thank everyone for convening, particularly after fleet week, where we had another successful celebration, weekend of reflection on the remarkable sacrifice, heroism, and leadership that is shown every day by men and women in uniform. it is something that i look forward to every year, not just as the mayor of the city, but someone who has grown up in the bay area. and of course, millions around the globe are able to experience what is arguably the most fantastic demonstration of american pride. we thought it would be

appropriate to piggyback this celebration with those who have returned from service, a recognition of those veterans that have done so much, provided us so much, that we need to do much more to serve ourselves. that reciprocal relationship needs to extend past at a time in uniform. one of the thing that i think we have fallen short on in this country is the filling our promise to be returning veterans. you see that manifested in the most acute ways in terms of those that come back that have suffered the consequences of war, literally and figuratively. those that have come back with physical challenges, mental health challenges, those that just come back to the challenge of coming back to an economy

that is not as strong as when they left. as well, getting a job, education, competing -- completing the narrative of their life. one of the things we are trying to do in san francisco is connect the dots. one of the most important thing we can do, particularly in a declining resource base, is make sure that we are leveraging existing resources, connecting doctor, and make sure that the program we are providing are working together, scaling their efforts, and building partnerships. we talk about public-private partnerships here, but we also talk about public-public partnerships. something that we are celebrating today is the creation of a new portal, our 311 call center. that will be available 24 hours a day in 24 languages to help our returning veterans connect

the dots. we will be working collaboratively with the va. i am always amazed when i go to the conference of mayors, how difficult it is to work with the va, the va saying how it was difficult to work with the city. i have never understood that conversation because we are so proud of them and we are not pointing a finger at them, but rather recognizing their important contribution. as well, programs like swords for passage. the va is a big part of our veterans connect network, a big part of our outreach and celebration, in terms of engaging the veterans community

and recognizing the contributions of our veterans and celebrating and supporting those contributions. really this is a partnership between the va, the city and county of san francisco, and a remarkable organization that has been getting a lot of attention. iraq veterans of america. todd is the deputy director and he will be talking about what they are doing across the country to conduct similar dots across the country. nancy and her team have created a new portal, 311.org. if you call 311, everyone there has been trained to connect veterans to grant services, jobs

services, grants representing schools, a wide variety of things to serve our veterans, but all in one place. all you need to know is three simple numbers. finally, we are also connecting to our community college. one thing we all need to think about is a lifelong learning, regardless of state of mind. a lot of our returning veterans want to complete their education. they have the opportunity to connect with funding and community colleges the backbone of our education system. you all know that. we are very proud of the san francisco community college and we will be talking about how they are a big purchase and in this effort as well. with that spirit, i am proud to

ask todd hours to come up. he will talk about their great work. i hope he tells you where this idea came from, because it came from him, his partners. how long ago did you come in here? about five months ago. they said we want to work with the city and create a model that we can export to other cities. they challenged us, and we hope that we have met their challenge. we thank you for your leadership and for the inspiration. >> i have a few notes. contrary to popular belief, marines can read. mayor newsom, sincerely, thank you. you are someone who put your money where your mouth was. you saw the issues at hand, and within a few months, you really

stepped up and led the charge. iava is the first and largest organization built for the returning veterans of iraq and afghanistan. our mission is very simple, one that mayor newsom understand, to improve the lives of iraq and afghanistan veterans and their families. when my unit return from war, i was overwhelmed. there were so many resources out there, different outlets, departments trying to do things for us, it became overwhelming. it was sort of like drinking from a fire hose. one of the things we realized was there has to be a way that cities on a local level can provide these resources from all different agencies into a single place. that is where this idea came from. we know in the city of san francisco, returning veterans

will no longer be drowning from that fire hose. through this program, veterans of all walks of life, regardless of their deployment, will be able to call in and find these resources at a touch of a button. that is what we need, sparred, innovative thinking to combat these issues that veterans are facing right now. one of the main things that iraq and of canada and veterans are dealing with when they come -- afghanistan veterans are dealing with when they come home our mental health issues, difficulties in integrating into society. things can be overwhelming, so where do they turn to first? other local community. this initiative will make a difference. one of the innovative ways the iraq and afghanistan veterans of america have engaged this new generation of membership is understanding that technology will be the key to outreach to a lot of these folks.

we have developed something called community of veterans which is sort of like a social networking site for veterans of iraq and afghanistan. within their we are able to provide tons of resources, and we are ecstatic to be able to provide this resource in there. one thing that we also do is reconnecting veterans. when we deploy, we find ourselves on these little fobs with people. that is the goal. reconnecting people once they come home. the reliance we have on the national guard and reserve can be overwhelming. these folks are not on military bases, not in a place where they can reach out to a neighbor. now we know there is a community here in san francisco that will support the veterans when they return. i would also like to propose another initiative. when i was in afghanistan, there

was a tremendous amount of hills and mountains on a daily basis. as i was walking through the city, i was sweating and this little trolley came rolling up the street. we need those in afghanistan. it may save us in the long run. going up and down those hills is pretty intense. i sincerely want to thank you on behalf of iava, other veterans' organizations, everyone else who has been involved, thank you for your leadership. it is an honor to be involved today. >> now i will ask joanne peters of our va to come up. it is weird to repeat this, but there is so much of this va vs. city friction across the country. i cannot express my confusion more because of our own experience.

i will ask her to say a few words as well. >> it is true, we have a good working relationship with the city and mayor. there are a number of initiatives we are working on. mainly, working with homeless veterans. we partner with hud, the public housing authority. we have 5000 doctors to help the homeless. we have the cover project, which is out of the san francisco jail. we are helping them with different life skills so they can get back and be functional in society. we did the project homeless connect. we worked with the city college. we