The Anvil Will Fall - Harvey Milk

My mama’s first love was

A vile ex-Marine

But the blood and guts in her heart

Could have washed Pilate’s hands clean

Her lips were like an anvil

Dropped from a cliff

The fall had almost killed him

And then that anvil hit

«Your father’s love was like a lantern

Lit on the brave dark ship

And my love was like the sea

Surging for one taste of his wick

And today, your thirteenth birthday

I can see through these tears

That, my son, you’ll be a soldier

Before five more years

Then your love will be the lantern

That guides your ship through the night

Don’t forget the sea loves the soldier

Who’s not afraid to die.»

Your love is like an anvil:

Cold and black as the earth

My love is like the hammer

Forging shapes of new life on your curves

My mama told me

When I was fresh from the womb

«Boy you’ll be a soldier

Judging by the size of my wound.»