Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Litany & Elegy


Title: "Litany & Elegy"
Series of 16 ATC's
Medium: Watercolor
Artist: Phyllis J. O'Rourke, M.A.
Date: June 20, 2020
Art-4-Art Artist Trading Swap
Lyons Regional Library
Lyons, Colorado

The words of the poem were influenced by two poems of  Aracelis Girmay. I wrote this poem on the birthday of my father who would have been 107 years old on this date.

Here is a review in The Guardian of a book I highly recommend: "The Worm at the Core"




Litany & Elegy

who are the children
of pandemics
dying before they’re born?


who are the children
of the night
keeping candle-light vigils?



who are the children
of deep dark sorrow
weeping by fallen statues?



who are the children
of bigotry
weeding verdant gardens?



who are the children
of ignorance
holding back their tears?



who are the children
of bias
washing down the blood?



who are the children
of danger
standing up for justice?



who are the children
of intolerance
putting their guns away?



who are the children
of silence
not wanting to rock the boat?


who are the children
of history
speaking for their brothers?




who are the children
of unmarked graves
gathering to mourn their sisters?


who are the children
of the shadows
speaking to the light?


who are the children
of the past
holding their place in line?


who are the children
of the present
walking to the center?


who are the children
of the future
returning to the world?




who are the children
of their better angels
standing by the river?


who are the children
of golden flames
marching in the streets?


who are the children
of purest water
painting words of power?


who are the children
of Mother Earth
sweeping up the sidewalks?


who are the children
of the skies

forgetting how we breathe?