After the sculpture “Compassion Moves a World,” by Julie Rotblatt-Amrany*
In the days that followed
The blue ink of sea broiled over
A child, a vulture, a lack of seed.
Everything spreading outward.
Wind whined into place and rained.
Sun spread its thick arms and stayed.
One person can make a world.
A strong wind can swim in acid and wake.
Water in turmoil thickening.
Hold on with all of your might.
The earth has not broken open yet.
The legs of the strong are stronger
Than the waves of the cloak of life.
We will come to cross this path,
We will make it across this continent,
We will find the child, the vulture, the seed.
We will change the shape of water.
_______________
| Copyright © 2020 by Michael H. Brownstein Michael H. Brownstein’s volumes of poetry, A Slipknot Into Somewhere Else and How Do We Create Love?, were published by Cholla Needles Press in 2018 & 2019, respectively. |
What an affirmation of strength and confidence, set amidst a storm of destruction and uncertainty! – or, rather, set “in the days following” the catastrophe, beyond which, somehow, a child has survived, a seed, perhaps a mother, and also a vulture (suggesting carrion). I’m not sure I’m more alarmed than encouraged by the scene.
ReplyDeleteThe battle is over, but the war goes on..."Never give up. Never, never, never!." W.A. Churchill. I believe he would have approved, Michael.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words.
ReplyDelete