Alameda Poet Laureate Kimi Sugioka reads her poem "Water Rabbit."
Water Rabbit
year of the rabbit hops in
auguries of ease, peace, benevolence
disguised in ravaging rain,
floods, falling trees, mudslides
drenching our streets
quenching our reservoirs
rabbit tosses poems across the floor
back paws kick the door
open with luminous
trickster wisdom:
what is wrong appears right
what is right appears wrong
rabbit’s nose twitches
smells possibility
in swatches of accountability
in snatches of inclusivity
in patches of intersectionality
in stitches of reparations
sun warmed and sated
rabbit rests on this lattice
of adversity and opportunity
ponders the sweet taste
of bananas, blueberries
and plots to flip
consumption
to preservation
devastation
to restoration
prevails upon the
upside down and backwards
politics of this country
to reconstitute itself
into collective healing