Keith Foskin,
Tribute to a source of a quiet solidarity…

Quiet words filled with the consciousness
of a revolutionary.
A modern day Che
Every strand of hair out of place,
Rough, graying stubble beard
Cigarette, rather than a Cuban puro, in hand.
Vanilla vodka, rather than Cuban rum,
sipped in quiet pensiveness.

Technological skills,
freeing political prisoners
like Mumia and Leonard, Assata and Mutulo.
Keith, like a Zapatista subcomandante,
Sending messages of solidarity,
From somewhere in the jungle
of a politicized and conscious mind.

I appreciated the many nights of
solidarity actions at 907 LaPorte,
The den of revolutionary thinkers,
Home of sumptuous pasta and radical greens,
Vegetarian and vegan food
To nurture radical thinking.
Where water-wasting lawns gave way
To composting and permacultured patios;
And anarchistic art instilled a revolutionary fervor
in the minds of young, enthusiastic thinkers.

Keith, demonstrating a quiet leadership,
Sharing political space at 907 with the Amory’s
of the world, young Starr’s
Who shine a needed light on the path of revolution.

Keith at 907…
Where hierarchies of class and gender oppression
were crushed by anarchistic zeal.
Where Foskin artwork adorned the walls
along with Noam Chomsky, Emma Goldman,
Zinn, and Che.
Enlightenment in a world filled with injustice,
Solace in a world filled with violence.

Keith Foskin, a quiet voice of solidarity.
Keith Foskin …. !Presente! Que viva Keith!

By Norberto Valdez,
International Workers’ Day, 2008
On the occasion of a humble tribute to
a departed companero, Ft. Collins.