The Cascadia Freedom Caravan brought people from Olympia, Portland, and Las Vegas to the Tear Down the Walls National Activist Gathering in Tucson, Arizona, where over four hundred people came together to strategize on building a more unified, powerful movement for transformational change in the United States.
When I first stepped on
the bus,
it smelled of fresh wood
and potential.
As soon as the striped curtains went up,
the engine began to rumble, and
this caravan-spaceship-earthship
began flying at (no more than) 65 miles per hour,
moving (no more than) 8 miles for every gallon of fossil fuel burned
And all of a sudden each person on the bus
is no longer a stranger.
You see there’s something about this bus
It’s not just any old bus
though it began that way
It’s a boat full of revolutionaries sailing down the West coast
on the winds of change
It’s a beatnik boomerang
unearthed from the dust
of several decades
It’s a tin can full of belly laughs and flower power
Sleeping bag hippie nest
Transient traveller travellin’ fest
Though, perhaps we best
not ascribe too many titles
to what might just be
a bunch of folks on a bus who haven’t taken showers
in a while
Well, it’s a band of lucky hearts and smiling faces
on a mission South to Tucson (C uk’s on)
to tear down walls
put our heads and hands together
build a movement
for us all
Yet, there’s something more about this bus
It’s clearly not just any old bus
though it began that way
It’s a journey through time and space
Synthesis of chance and grace
watching the land roll on through the windows
days and days moving bodies
changing beings
sitting still
still the same
in and of the moment living
hour is now, but what time is it? day is it?
and where are we anyways?
Yeah, there’s something about this bus
It’s not just any old bus
though it began that way
What other vehicle sports
spontaneous acrobatic yoga
Carries old souls with young spirits
Generates living breathing hip hop beatbox
Folky string tunes on green leather bus seats
Or freestyle jams on the freeways?
Radical radiowave broadcasting expedition
documenting history in the making
making history
as we know it
We got blues in our coffee cups,
Fire in our hearts
Left some riders, gained some riders,
wheels keep moving
stop,
keep moving
and though it’s parked they’re moving, still
Truck stop smoke pot
In the middle of nowhere
Cartwheels, handstands, feet in the air
Cigarette breaks at every gas fill
Sound waves, brain waves bounce off the window sills
Some nights a bit too much booze
Sometimes soundless, in our heads, we cruise
Yes there’s this thing about the bus
It’s not just any old bus
Embodied voyage to our future
Subtle trip to the past
Remembering the road on which we travel is encompassed by the land
Living breathing spirit of the Cascadia Freedom flag
Internal rhymes mesh with
External vibrations
Like a Heart beats
Truth speaks
language of love in the air we breathe
Minds blown,
Mind blown, once again
Infinite dreams
Nomadic, it seems
Yet, true warriors fated
to come back to where we originated
See, there’s something about this bus
It’s not just any old bus
It’s a freewheeling convoy of truth seekers
whispering visions through desert whirlwinds
heads high, spirits strong with intentionality
philosophies interweaving in material reality
Insurmountable amounts of dirty socks and pbj sandwiches
Crowded with beings of sweat, blood, and dust
And the clown crown, it travels from head to head
Bus cushions, floor corners, our makeshift beds
We sleep and wake on this bus
Our destination we carry with us
No rules, we follow our own expectations
Share everything we have with no hesitations
Fearless of raw primordial expression
We listen to our instincts; learn to trust
We all suffer and dance together
In this day and age it’s consensus or bust,
man
See there’s something about this bus
It’s not just any old bus
Now, taste of freedom on our tongues
Inhaling and exhaling the love in the air in our lungs
Singing songs for none but our own souls
as we stoke these emerging hot rebel coals
and add kindling to this passionate fire we fan
in the Cascadia Freedom Caravan…
Nora Mahto Knutson is a radical free spirit from South Minneapolis with roots settling into the earth of this town called Olympia, She is a writer, spoken word artist, activist, and much more…
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