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august morning villanelle
so long a silence covers up much pain
we can rejoice but we must still recall
this sun of freedom rises through the rain
why they were taken we need not explain
for weight of shadows on us casts a pall
so long a silence covers up much pain
of those who suffered for other folks’ gain
whose battered bodies hung against the wall
this sun of ( Read more... ) -
(Untitled)
to travel takes us back to where we start ( Read more... ) -
come wind come weather
across the silences these words are true
that answer sorrow with with a worthy smile ( Read more... ) -
the guilty party
too many answers come down to the same
non-explanation of the simple fact
we are the ones who always bear the blame
for all the anger we have one hard name
clear and precise both noble and exact
too many answers come down to the same
wave of exhaustion so that we must claim
not what we earned but all the goods we lacked
we are the ( Read more... ) -
no winners in the end
to speak of valour is no great mistake
when each of us confronts the howling gale
those who are ready when the sandbags fail
know what is meant when city turns to lake
each of them is that moment wide awake
while in their corners all the cowards quail
left with no benefit save their own stale
as even stoutest bodies bend and shake
( Read more... ) -
crossing rivers
where crossing rivers can be made to count ( Read more... ) -
dessalines at vertières
our meanings come from choices handed down
by those who built the towers and raised the sky
the folk who farmed the fields and filled the town
who'd made the horrid trip and did not die
their long hope was back to lost home to fly
but all the horrors made their footsteps slow
while home was lost in the far eastern glow
they had their duties ( Read more... ) -
clearer paradigm
no evidence the world is bent in shape
a bluish globe with wooly white of cloud
the mountains form a contrast sharp and proud
against the sea we note the golden cape
while in the sky dark birds seem to escape
the planetary force while winds are loud
above the foam and yet we are uncowed
though eyes are open and all mouths agape
there is a ( Read more... ) -
the turning of the wheel
no matter what we say we do not feel
the pain of others right inside each heart
instead we wait the turning of the wheel
for one more challenge for the last appeal
which was presaged right at the very start
no matter what we say we do not feel
our hopes and urges have been brought to heel
and the last hero laid upon a cart
instead we ( Read more... ) -
no astrology
where no man argues and no woman fights
for good or evil we have reached an end
of human battles and the stars portend
no better indications as the nights
close in we note their distant blinking lights
as symbols we might faintly comprehend
when we are whole but what the worlds intend
is not a matter that we have to rights
the argument of ( Read more... )