|
Update, 02 November 2021:
THANK YOU to all the poets who participated and contributed their words to this crowdsourced poem, "We Are Here." ~ Love and Light to all. *** It's the first of October.. It's the first day of Filipino American History Month. It's also LGBT History Month; Tackling Hunger Month; Celebrating the Bilingual Child Month; and so many other acts of honoring, remembering, and celebrating. And today, I am starting a state-wide, month-long project to collect 2-4 LINES OF POETRY for a crowd-sourced poem I am calling WE ARE HERE, which takes direct inspiration from the words of the three poets I quote below~ |
|
In his Leaves of Grass (1892), American poet Walt Whitman wrote:
O Me! O Life! Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring, Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish, Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?) Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d, Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me, Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined, The question, O me! so sad, recurring--What good amid these, O me, O life? Answer. That you are here—that life exists and identity, That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse. Filipino poet Jose Garcia Villa wrote in 1942 Have Come, Am Here. And writer, poet, and organizer Carlos Bulosan wrote in 1940 "If You Want to Know Who We Are," from which these lines are excerpted: "...We are multitudes the world over, millions everywhere; in violent factories, sordid tenements, crowded cities, in skies and seas and rivers, in lands everywhere; our numbers increase as the wide world revolves and increases arrogance, hunger, disease and death. We are the men and women reading books, searching in the pages of history for the lost word, the key to the mystery of living peace, imperishable joy; we are factory hands field hands mill hands everywhere, molding creating building structures, forging ahead, Reaching for the future, nourished in the heart...." |
GUIDELINESAnyone in Virginia can participate.
Use any (one or a combination) of the following questions as your starting point: In this year+ of tumult and change, What does it mean to create community and inclusivity in these difficult times? What does it mean to survive and tell your own/your family's/community's story? What does it mean to reach toward the future? What does it mean to reach for "imperishable joy?" What "lost word" would you want to find? You could also write your 2-4 lines in response to something that you connect with in my poem "We Are Here" (see below). Send your 2-4 lines in the body of the email (NO attachments) to WeAreHerePoetry "at" gmail.com Please include the following information after your lines: Name Virginia City/County in which you live Poet-contributors are also invited to share their Age &/or Profession Lines will be collected from 1-31 October 2021. Our collaborative poem will be published on this website. I look forward to hearing your voices! Thank you, Luisa |
|
WE ARE HERE
Luisa A. Igloria I crossed an ocean too. We were not running from bullets. We were not important enough to be political prisoners. There was no war, I have no visible shrapnel scars. Only a recent calamity that left my whole city in ruins, that tore my house in two. Two weeks after the earth shook buildings like toy maracas, father swayed against the door frame in his faded yellow bathrobe as if to say goodbye. In the morning he choked as mother spooned soft scrambled eggs into his mouth. Then his eyes rolled back in his head and he stiffened in the chair. Can I say we took him to the hospital if the hospital was barely standing? I can see the shape made by the feather stroke of blood that issued from the corner of his mouth. The sky lifted with the noise of rescue helicopters. We were not on them. I was not on them. I found another way across the ocean. I took what was offered, learned to hide the sounds of hurt in my ears. It's difficult to erase the taste of guilt we kept in our mouths. We are learning the names of other birds but we still have a habit of always looking back. Happiness touches down lightly, like wings, every now and then. |
|
Standing upon the shoulders of giants Einstein grasped the future, handed it down There really is enough future to hand around If we used our hands to hold every human to the sky our billions could lay hands on the moon almost thirty-two times - J. Scott Wilson,Yorktown, VA; 52, Publisher The times were told by the hands— the poet's pen, mother's folded in prayer, a toddler's touch, my father's last grasp, the pocket of love resting between hands that don't know or care about race or gender - Carol Parris Krauss, Portsmouth, VA; 62; Mother, Teacher, Poet I hand the panhandler candy Aghast at his blackened beaming teeth Which dissolves like stirred sugar In the syrup of our shared delight - Shirley Lavin, Kents Store, VA; 62, RE Admin and learning to laugh, lips parting to reveal one of life's choicest joys. Soaking in moments of ease, breathe, breathe again, my dears. - Tope Abigail Larayetan, Virginia Beach, VA; 23, Writer & MFA student I have not found all the fragments content to be weighed down by dust but each day is a find, a dig continued so that I may know my past and self - Konstantin N. Rega, Richmond, VA; 24, Assistant Editor What kind of world will we leave our children - are things as bad as they seem? If only we could wake up one day and this was all a dream! - Clay Harrison, Williamsburg, VA; 79, retired Police Officer Like new-born fledglings We are vulnerable yet Strong after the plague - Emily Bilman Author, Teacher Virginia Poetry Society I stand, nakedly human, war torn and thinking Like a pilgrim seeking hope, in lands not yet hardened Still ingloriously alone, still gloriously fluid - Julie Scott, Fredericksburg, VA; 56, Operations Manager/Writer Even with this insistent breaking of things and naming of things, I will not be fooled into thinking it is not always spring. - Julia Travers, Gordonsville, VA; Writer Reaching towards the future is like a ladder You keep on climbing While your climbing time goes on by Once that time goes by you reach your goal - Rafael Acosta, 14 I Like my future But I’m scared to meet her - Jacey Klotz, 13 To reach for imperishable joy Is to feel untouchable and slightly coy, To feel like the world is in your hands So, you feel great about your plans - Demiya Neville, Norfolk VA; 14, student At a loss for words… But what does that mean? A longing Not to speak, but to be seen - Peyton Ecobichon, Norfolk VA; 13 In the clouds of naïveté; a murder has happened The child’s head starts sparking a revolution, just to be chopped off; The child’s ideas touch me and now it’s my turn to share the word For if the world is going to mature someone has to spread the message - Sylvie Vegh, Norfolk, VA; 17, Student Once the tale is told The truth is forgotten For the Story is what we hold - Connor Houser, Norfolk VA; 18, student Eyes crinkled, holding back tears from a simple hello A warm meal and bottle of water, received with a smile, a thank you come back next week - Huaqiu "Cho-Cho" Williams, Norfolk, VA; 17, Granby High School student Even dragged under the surface, we adapt. Potent calls through the ocean of wires and signals pushing like sea waves, carrying life diverse and determined to keep moving. - Charlotte Toomey, Norfolk, VA; 17, Granby High School student I search for the lost word that could somehow explain The dip of toes in a crystalline stream, where silence is the absence of thought not the absence of sound Impossible to voice but fundamental to feel, two incompatible elements I hope to one day fuse To master the alchemy of expression - Nivale Baxendell, Norfolk VA; 16 I stole my mother’s breath from her body to love you with a scream I harvested my grandmother’s ribs To create your forgiveness - Ella Jean Fernandez, Norfolk VA student Life is full of secrets and mysteries where wet try our best to answer these Questions that our brain pleas to understand the reasons of life We try our best, and with our thoughts we fight Although some questions are above the human expertise - Maya Mallory Within the dark cold winter, the eskimo mindlessly wander atop the smoothed ice pond. Unable to break the ice free, the robust taste of fish continues to be washed away for months. When almost all hope was shriveled away, a crack into the ice washed doubt off the eskimos Their once dry lips became pressed with joy as they were able to shatter their wall to the future - Gian Goboy, Norfolk VA; 16 If only we were simultaneous If only we got along and were equal If only you treated me like you treated them If only you cared - Dania Miles, Norfolk VA; 17 Reflection of waves from the ocean I crossed Reflection as I look back out of habit Thoughts of guilt and innocence tossed Tossed like pancit with carrots and cabbage - Racquel Dicuangco, Norfolk, VA; 17, High School Student They too were looking for a future Not just a job A family. Somewhere to begin a new chapter - Sharon Chen, Norfolk VA; 16, Granby High School student Reach towards the future, it’s easy they said “Take what's yours! You make your own path” Individuals, never really are iNdIvIdUaL You can reach for the future, but don’t expect it to reach back. - Aiden Hill, Norfolk, VA; 17, student It is hard to be happy, Living in a world with so much anger, grief and loneliness. Being happy is a gift, One I hope to receive every day of my life - Jackie Velotas, Norfolk, VA; student The Past. a simple yet complex concept leave the past in the past but let it pave the way of the future - Shivani Rastogi, Norfolk, VA; student There is the perfectly shaped high picked apple hanging by a pound A man journeys over the ridged and harsh bridge to see the beauty he most deserves By the time he reaches the peak of the mountain with all his diligent work He sees that fruit is no more and the non-rightness has taken it - Brian Cohn, Norfolk VA; 17 If only we were simultaneous If only we got along and were equal If only you treated me like you treated them If only you cared - Dania Miles, Norfolk, VA; 17 It means fear, apprehension, the unknown, stepping into the dark But then, a light, a candle flame dancing, lighting the tinder as the fire begins to spread This is the future, not the darkness, but the light waiting to spread. You just have to step - Matthew Larkin, Norfolk, VA; 18 I reach for what once was imperishable joy The joy felt of late seems so easily faded The infinite sunshine once felt as a boy What cloud passes over and leaves it degraded? - Kelson Hughes, Norfolk, VA; student Only one we can seem to taste But we don’t fly straight Joy can never truly diminish Even with a sour feeling surrounding us - Camden Dunbar, Norfolk, VA; student Hand in hand or each alone, we traverse a landscape sunny or shadowed; from high bridges we enjoy the view. Slogging through mire we struggle to balance our backpacks. On a trodden way we keep a steady pace. One day we will put aside the backpacks as we reach our destination. - Sue Davis Gabbay, Washington, VA; 91, retired Librarian Don't tell the towering ancient oaks who shelter me in this time of isolation. Don't inform the frolicking squirrels whose antics delight my days. Oxford Junior Dictionary removed acorn from their lexicon. How do you explain to a child of any age a nameless source of life, buried and sought? - Denise Wilcox, Keswick, VA; 71, Writer/Artist Survival doesn't come with a trophy of bronze, or a medal of gold Mine came with scars on my arms and a broken soul Stop smiling at my strength and my ability to rise No, sir, your faith doesn't answer when I scream for why - Stacy Clair, Fredericksburg, VA; Freelance writer Floating down river The eagle glides above us Joy speaks in silence - Drury Wellford, Richmond, VA; 65, disabled library professional in these worst of times, when seems all hope is gone, will your anchor hold? steadfast, secure to the Solid Rock! - Paul Evans Savas. Williamsburg, VA; Orthopedic Spine Surgeon The strangers did not recognize their prejudicial words looking down upon my face, so different from their own uttering their confusion "Where are you from? You speak English so well." Yet, their words could not estrange me from this place I call my home. - Dori Martinez Freudiger, Burke VA; Retiree, Artist/Writer/Gardener We admit to the ankle (a far-cry from the breast weeping over idiocies) how there is awe in the hinge and spring of bones made of wire and lightning to ignite our dance. - Kathryn Gahl; 74, Poet, Writer, Dancer I remember my best friend She could stand in the rain and sing But in the year 2020 She passed away due to COVID-19 - Lacroy Nixon, Williamsburg, VA; 24 Other cultures venerate the old person Use him to guide their group with ideas and ideals Developed during his productive life His life—not a discard but vital - L. Nelson Farley, Newport News, VA; 87, engineer, author |
not like bananas, soft, sweet and over-ripe for bread hope of imperishable joy sustains me through a pandemic, through quarantine, through civil discord like a stone-hard seed that awaits its bloom - Kathleen P. Decker, Williamsburg, VA; Physician, Poet Still we are sure of the sun's rising if nothing else, sure that birdsong is a balm for a world without touching, certain we can memorize every sigh and hum of love at a distance - Kindra McDonald, Norfolk VA; 43, Educator, Executive Director To reach to the future means my arms are long or that touch is the inhale before breaking in song. - Beth Williams, Norfolk, VA; 57, poet “Why are we here, not there?” some ask with deep despair. But I would call it Providence To breath this morning air. - Christian Pascale, Williamsburg VA; Retired We is the caldron, and the incantation, and the potion: tongue of grief, eye of greed, skin of kinship, roux of rue; I is the hand that tosses in, and stirs—I, I, by the billions. Take care, brother witch, sister mouth. I brews; we bruise. - Derek Kannemeyer, Richmond, VA; 72, retired teacher, working not-for-profit artist She places the luminous egg gently upon Rudbeckia hirta Octobers, many. You were born in sunshine Joy beyond reckoning as your love gave light to more From each of you, a buried word unearthed: kindness. - Marjorie Gowdy, Callaway, VA; poet, artist On the roadside a finger gray haze of breath starlight beyond this blue urge - Chapman Hood Frazier, Rice, VA; Professor in Residence, JMU A voice peering through unfathomable dreams, brings forth useless battles and blades of error; I’m a slave to lingering emotions, a bride on embers to old sufferings, an infinite mourner hidden beneath things I do not know - Michal Mahgerefteh, Norfolk, VA; poet and artist The pain that has us grieve today will seem no more than pause on way to finer memories of what is yet to come — believe! - Alan Meyrowitz, Haymarket, VA; 76, retired Computer Scientist This tyrant of a virus won't define us in the end-- We will rise! We'll recover; sisters, brothers, once again And we'll sing songs of love and freedom; we will sing, with voices clear and strong-- We will sing of the new day that is dawning - we will sing with tomorrow in our song! - Rich Follett, Strasburg, VA; 61; Teacher, Poet Laureate of Strasburg We are here, with our love, our reason, our truth. against ignorance, fear, and hate. Old evils, but we will prevail. - Ray Copson, Reston, VA; 77, retired civil servant The Earth is a club, you call yourself a member Your membership is finite, you could be out by September Now you're gone, will anyone be a lamenter Now you're gone, will anyone even remember - Noah Alper, Norfolk VA; 17, high school student to search for the thing that would turn emotion to characteristic to never be certain that it can be attained or understood But to choose to believe; we must believe that one day, we will uncover the secret to happiness eternal. - Elliana Mukherjee, Norfolk, VA; 16, student To be Alone but not Lonely, there is a difference in the physical and mental realms. I may be Lonely but never Alone. - Kaushal Bhasin, Norfolk VA; 17 Is it the “looking back” that keeps us chained down? Or the fear of continuing forward keeping us bound to the ground? But you have to reach toward the light at the end of the hallway. For at the end is a future so bright, you don’t ever want to look away. - Arwyn Elixson, Norfolk, VA; 17 I want to find the “lost word” of my black ancestors That were forcibly taken from their homes Made to forget their culture and language - Amyah Germany, Norfolk, VA; 17 We are multitudes More than a number, more than your stereotype, more than our appearance To be or not to be We choose not to be a number, we choose to be exactly who we want to be - Tashiera Caine, Norfolk VA; 17 Love is the feeling when our hearts are breaking and dreams are fleeting. When we are lost, and wander without a map. When we find a clearing and someone stands with their arms open, we know that love is the feeling that leads us home. - Kathryn Bonheur, Norfolk VA; 17 Our people are hurting, but Our people are strong minded and willed Our people are filled with differences, some facing adversity Yet, our people are united and in union there is strength - Quinn Carroll, Norfolk VA; 17, student We are here in what we leave behind: The memories, the laughter, the tears. We learn from what others leave behind. We learn from what wasn’t left behind. - Meghan Velotas, Norfolk VA; 17 We are here in hopes of a new future. To leave this city down in shambles We hope to find a chance to be successful and acknowledged. There’ll always be a search for that golden opportunity. - Nia Olaes, Norfolk VA; 17 To reach toward the future means to settle into the present Live and breathe your future until it comes into existence Stop talking and just be, stop hoping and just do Stop reaching for something that doesn’t exist - Gerard Jan De Perio, Norfolk VA; 17 As we look back upon this year, May we not turn our back on it; On the lessons we learned for our families, our futures On the bright spots in the dark, charting those stars out of the void - Leia Morissey, Norfolk VA; 17, Student A second generation Ashkenazi Jew – a generation too late. Too late to hear their stories, Too late to know their whys. Past generations are gone, their words lost forever. - Debra Markel, Richmond, VA; 68, Retired To search for joy is to exist To exist in each moment, simply and wholly Not mourning yesterdays, not agonizing tomorrows To search for joy is not to search but to live - Abigail Strawn, Norfolk, VA; 17, student How can you ask me to reach for imperishable joy when I one day will perish too How can you ask me to endure joy forever when you don't know all that I endure I walk through the flames of the fires you created, and I breathe in the unclean air around me But still, I reach through the burning heat, through the clouds of pollution, for imperishable joy - Rowan Heine, Norfolk, VA; 17, student But what happens when the birds don't have names? Sometimes they are simply feathers in flight Unaware of the gore that surrounds them. - Kayla Whitt, Norfolk, VA; 17, student You are reaching out to the boy And You are taking him in your arms And We are flying away - Francis Pitchford, Norfolk VA; 17, Student The future is within reach, Where the grass is greener, and the air is cleaner. The future is within reach, With every inch I get closer to a world where these kids can compose her. - Demi Seligman, Norfolk, VA; 17, student Only the past is known it its entirety Hour after hour, past grows and future remains the unknown Predictions nor predilections can alter that specific black hole There is only hope, said society - Lilah Edwards, Norfolk, VA; student To reach for that which seems possessed by light, with trembling fingers Is unimaginable. To some, that imperishable joy lingers too bright, uncomfortable Only begot with by perfected arms But still, I reach, I reach, and I reach, just for a taste of Avalon - Dana Sun, Norfolk VA; 17 I stay where your calendar stopped. The red Xs came to an end. Don’t. Keep making a mark. Maybe someday you’ll help someone’s calendar last. - Mei Lin Agustin, Norfolk, VA; student Reaching for imperishable joy is equivalent to reaching for misery It is impossible to be forever delighted, you need to have some despair to compare it to - Nautica Bracey, Norfolk, VA; 17 We are survivors that have come out black and blue- and breathing. - Stephanie Chambers, Norfolk, VA; 17, student The joyous child, innocent, carefree. Through menial work, they perished. Mechanical in motion, Hollowed in notion. How can the imperishable perish? Eureka! Mindset is imperishable. Motion, no longer akin to machine notion, no longer alike to abyss - Zehao Wu, Norfolk, VA; student For years, my only solace was my favorite day, Halloween: dressing as male heroes, alteregos--my excuses: "pretending," "only for a night." Now blinking in the bright light of this new day, where my niece's schoolteachers are openly gay: dare I emerge, secret identity unshielded by costumed night? Is there anyone left beneath that deep-creased need to hide? - Adele Gardner, Newport News, VA; 51, Librarian I am here, living proof that my ancestor’s legacy still reigns - Erica Stephens Writer/Author Homelessness, starvation, mental health disparity -- the arduous parts of the journey Life death journey is eternal Humankind's creation and comfort are one-- In the arms of God God is eternally with a soul - Barbara Drucker Smith, Newport News, VA; 85, NATH Master Hypnotherapist, Poet, Writer, Louraine Publishing I crossed a land stretched wide where cacti grow and prick one’s side, reflecting on the living and the dead praying that I don't fall like lead - Robert L. Giron, Arlington, VA; poet/publisher Seeking serenity, leadership, peace, caring, truth, contentment, pride, balance. Seeking the compassion and inconceivable determination that was cast away. Seeking freedom for prisoners who have given up on freedom. Seeking hope as bold as cardinals flying expeditiously toward horizon. Let us all try to seek sonder. May our living be authentic. May our ending be love. - ENGL 112L Introduction to Literature students of Lamaya Williams,Norfolk, VA; 22, Graduate Teaching Assistant |