We Stand With Ukraine And Lay Narcissus to Rest
Prose poem
Up ahead a pick-up truck painted in American flag- the farm once a place
of sustenance- now a battleground.
To my right, pulls up- a Pitt Ohio truck- “we’re always there
for you” -inscribed on white background- to my left- bleach blond hair- lady
like an automaton punching commands on her smartphone.
My white mask. My white car.
I am branded here.
White bark against blue sky
White bark against blue sky has always
provided comfort before but today my body screams:
“Get out of here!”
My coloring no longer enough
to represent me as kin.
It’s hard to imagine a terrorist in white skin.
The news told you who to hate-
without ever acknowledging
your fear- shifting the focus from you and me
to a place of harbor for blame.
He then stepped in -massaged your worries- fueling
them with indignation over his land this is!
Only, he would never take an elevator to your homestead-
snubbing his nose at the smell of manure
should a speck land on his
shoe- he’d make your farmhand
bend over and lick it up- while he
smacks her in the ass- convincing himself she likes it like that.
White bark against blue sky
White bark against blue sky
Americans sign up their kids for little league- assuming
their freedom- an entitlement.
Let’s just keep playing the game
like a national anthem- all in the spirit of having fun- stuck
on repeat. stuck on repeat. stuck on repeat.
Only inside we sense the pull- our paths
converging with Russia- should we place a bully
in a position of power (again!)
having all witnessed what happened on
January 6, 2021.
Isn’t it time we spill the brazen tonic of madmen?
-when fathers schooled in the art of emotional nurturance- taken
from their babies- striking up arms- because powerful men who cannot
shed their reptilian skin- threatened by them- lost in an emotional
void- they know they are drifting towards
-an irrelevant end.
But aren’t we all! Aren’t we all!
The question remains-
how to soothe this fire when powerlessness pervades?
White Bark. Blue Sky. White Bark. Blue Sky.
The difference this time- the whole world is watching
and seeing these crimes.
White Bark! Blue Sky! White Bark! Blue Sky!
And true men already know how to cry.
The acceptance of this is how we snuff out these
flames- before atrocity reins all over again.
White Bark! Blue Sky! White Bark! Blue Sky!
We strike against these arms
staring you cold in the face
hearing your terror inside-
as you attempt to lock up your fate.
White Bark! Blue Sky!
White Bark!
Blue Sky!
As blue fades to yellow across the horizon-
we see you… and choose a new dawn of peace.
We stand with Ukraine and offer up Narcissus-
seeding his ashes over this hypnotic
quagmire- suctioning in our lack of restraint.
In the remains- a sunflower rises to reach-
the clear blue sky- and I have hope- we can
do it differently this time.
This is in part a vague response to J.D. Harms’ prompt on soothing fire.
I also want to tag here Chris Papps’s poem: I Am A Man. It really resonated with me as I completed this poem. Thank you, Chris, for reveling your vulnerability.
And I’m tagging myself here because I was just winding down this piece, (Why I Photo: Part V) when Russia invaded Ukraine.. and the whole purpose of this work was to express the need to humble ourselves and rest within our vulnerabilities in order to find inner peace -which then- spreads out towards all humanity and non-human life on this earth. We have got to do better than this! We have got to do so much better than this!!!
