Apr 2017
Slender green shoots
press through the
still cold ground
hands of the earth
lifted in prayer
Their strength is manifest
their exertions
carpet the land in green
their tender prayers
press forcibly against the sky
and keep it
at the distance
God intended
In the fall
invisible seeds will carpet the land
buried they will be
but in spring
they begin to speak
These buried corpses
will not only murmur
they will sing
in lush green voices.
I pray I will be there
yet once more
to join in the song.
press through the
still cold ground
hands of the earth
lifted in prayer
Their strength is manifest
their exertions
carpet the land in green
their tender prayers
press forcibly against the sky
and keep it
at the distance
God intended
In the fall
invisible seeds will carpet the land
buried they will be
but in spring
they begin to speak
These buried corpses
will not only murmur
they will sing
in lush green voices.
I pray I will be there
yet once more
to join in the song.
The title is from a James Baldwin quote I jotted down while we were watching the film I Am Not Your *****: "all your buried corpses now begin to speak."
I took the concept in directions the author never intended. Apologies to Mr. Baldwin.
I took the concept in directions the author never intended. Apologies to Mr. Baldwin.
