Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Even a ripple makes a difference



Knead my anger to bread
      of common wheat  
Salt my wounds 
      red with fresh thyme
         
Against killing fields of innocents' blood
Against greed of tyrants & power mad leaders

Puncture through my chest 
      songs of hurts & injustices
Petrol my voice  
      to ripple through dark alleys 

Let me wear your
      grease of sinful shame
      graveyard of sadness

Keel me with rain-
drops 
of compassion
clouds of forgiveness 

Born in me,
person, 
not a beast nor coward

Let them not make me a stone 
and let them not spill me.

Otherwise kill me



“Let them not make me a stone and let them not spill me.
Otherwise kill me.”
Louis MacNeice
from, ‘Prayer before Birth


Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Bold Tributes hosted by Amaya  Engleking.   Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.   Here is the prompt:   We’ll pay tribute to a non-violence or social justice poem by embedding a powerful quote into our own poems, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Please come join us as there are several example quotes to use, from Thomas Hardy to Margaret Walker, or you can find your own quote inspiring peace.

17 comments:

  1. I really love the beginning... turning the anger into something useful... bread is perfect for what we need to stand up against injustices

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  2. The emotion is palpable in 'Knead my anger to bread', Grace! I can also feel the anger in
    'Petrol my voice
    to ripple through dark alleys'.
    Stunning!

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  3. Ah, you made that quote sing out so strongly. I suddenly understood it in a whole different way. What a powerful piece.

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  4. I did not quite get this quote when I first read it. I kind of glossed over it. But your poem explained it to me, so thank you!

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  5. Stunning, Grace.
    LOVE:
    Let me wear your
    grease of sinful shame
    graveyard of sadness

    I used the same quote, was so touched by it.

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  6. I liked these lines: "rain-
    drops
    of compassion
    clouds of forgiveness "

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  7. Sure brought it to life even more so with your flow.

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  8. Evocative imagery, Grace, with such potent lines so filled with pathos! A truly great write!

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  9. A powerful message, Grace. I especially like.."Puncture through my chest songs of hurts and injustices...."
    We need to feel it....to fix it.

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  10. Excellent job on this quote's sentiment, Grace. I hope you read the full poem by MacNeice, if you haven't already. My favorite line was,
    "Petrol my voice
    to ripple through dark alleys"
    As we learn how to extract truly valuable resources from deep within...us.

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    Replies
    1. Yes I did. Beautiful and moving poem Amaya !

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  11. This is powerful--a healthy expression of anger and expression of the need for change of which everyone needs to make a difference. Poets have a unique stage.

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  12. Wow, Grace..this is full of passion, anger, fight. Love it!!! A great quite to work with.

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  13. Stirring ... impactful ... an important piece.

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  14. Beautiful and intense words. :-)

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