"Humanism," a poem
Holding on to "a different darkness" in a dark time
A while back, I published a chapbook called On Self-Expression After the Revolution.
It’s a collection of poems set in (and photographs of) New York City, among the winners and losers of the American Dream.
Fundamentally, it’s a protest collection, and I published it with the punk tradition in mind. It’s my own version of a handmade mimeographed stapled sidewalk zine, a cry of resistance in the shadows and glare of corporate capitalism.
The angry poems of this chapbook are never far from my mind these days, as the forces of dehumanization appear to be gaining strength. Today, I offer up the concluding poem as a reminder of what’s at stake.
Humanism
Down to a darkness redefined
as the grit at the root of the stem
as the mouth wide open
as the searching tongue
dark as the mouth drinking straight
from the stream
lapping the earth
dark as the throat making wild song
dark as birth and death cycling through
and pausing, here, just for us
The paradox of time standing still
but only for a moment
as the muscle tightens to a fist
as the grip of violence releases
as our bodies float
past their normal limits
past this place
as our bodies float past us
and open to other lives
and open to other memories
and open to vistas
vast and enormous
The woman who waited, attended
The man who waited, at rest
Their love surpassing their limits
Their love tested and eternal
Our skin wet with rain again
and raw like the soil
like the clay
before the kiln
the holy imperfect, unfixed
but unbroken, not yet cracked
not yet spidered, not yet veined
with our weakness
Ourselves whole and smooth
and unfinished
Ourselves as ancient vessels
of light and shade
Ourselves down
to a different darknessNew from Wee Sparrow…
I am very proud to have edited a little collection of humorous poems for The Wee Sparrow Poetry Press, where I am Co-Editor Across the Pond. It’s a quick break from dire straits. Check it out for some levity before you go back to doom-scrolling!
Be True, Episode 78: We Are the Mad Ones
John reads his poem "Intertestamental" from his chapbook Apocrypha. He discusses our present need for spiritual renewal, the benefits of writing our own scripture, and Walt Whitman's American Bible.
Luna speaks…
