Emptied and filled with dusty masks
Bringing in unfiltered baskets Full of all the screams we’ve worn Capos fly over frets worn bare Over which was held a stare The tidings faith and feasts so true Brought us together in song in you The songs they echoed like cavern’s wishes Spoken words and strange predictions Oftentimes with goosebumps plenty On one leg or maybe two The blues held true in many an eye Alongside hope and community too These days they flew like a falcon in flight Swooping in and out of our hectic lives Although the time was miserably short Our brothers and sisters learned a thing or two We brought our gifts to one another Shared our moments we put to song Not long ago I didn’t feel I had a voice But the messages there begot my choice To choose my chosen words a plenty and put them on the parchment To speak those words on parchment’s surface To dig below our imagined surfaces To scream out loud and cry happy tears Of life of love on the canvas above Ancient embers burn through rows of trees their trunks and limbs defaced
Billowing smoke suffocates the breath acrid soot hastens fleeting Calm invoked the mask is placed and oxygen begins to flow Dust on the ground crunchy burnt limbs under foot creeping Every breath taken the wind moves across your path Forever it seems to burn white hot oak now turned to ash Gone are the trunks of 200 year old gentle beasts Hiding on the hills in hope they won't burn and fall with a crash In the air smoke filled visions of light dancing on the clouds Just in time the water bird swoops and douses all my limbs Kinfolk gather and hope their hamlet will be spared Leaning in and holding close their loved ones singing hymns Mountains direct the fires burning on peaks and valleys down below No time to waste grab all your things and knickknacks that mean the most Once there was a childhood home now which stands just a chimney alone Panicked faces dampened sweaty full of fear they lost all hope Questions answered with not answers but more questions ringing false Roaring in their ears the sirens deafening the solace gone Silence as the trees they breath relief and dancing as they waltz Tucking in between the gullies formed by water poured since dawn Under blanketed ground of ash the light soon gives the sprouts their due Valleys mountains hills and crests begin to enrich once fire's through What was once a barren wasteland full of blackened trunks and soot Xenial growth the pollen spreads and pedals will once again renew Yesterday the ground it crunched under dusty feet creeping through flames Zestful life like spring today sprung up through ground that forever remains It would be the frosting on the cake
The cherry on top The soda pop bubbling over at the soda pop shop The sun on our faces Eclipses don't stare The orange face broken and full of despair What a beautiful thing to see his head held low World's view of us fuller could finally again grow Start over with Pence I shudder to think He'd still be better than being on the brink There's SO far to go We're not even close to finding the answers to questions from all folks Both "sides" red or blue have some learning to do Can connect if we try It's what we must do In closing I find myself tearing up a bit This place that's so beautiful could work if we commit To stand together among friends and foes all the like I know it's not all rainbows and kumbaya despite Find strength in the light Find strength in the day Find strength in the night Find strength in what's right I want to do something. I want to help ease the pain of everyone I can. Every time I see the face of a little one it reminds me that we all need to hold our loved ones a little closer this year, and every year. Hold them close and tell them “I love you”. In a time of so much pain and unbelievable heartache I feel a bit helpless but want to try and do all that I can. We all must come together and show our love, support, and compassion for one another. On our way into Newtown, I wasn't sure what to feel and didn't know what to expect. When such a serene place is turned upside down it makes you wonder how much faith you can put into humanity. My first impression of Newtown was about how much of a quaint little town it was with little mom and pop shops lining the streets and it reminded me a lot of some small Vermont towns I used to visit growing up there. The amount of support this community received in the wake of such tragedy is something that I will never forget. Flowers, teddy bears, candles, pictures, Christmas Trees,banners, poems, some from as far away as Hawaii, filled the sidewalks. I'm thankful that I was able to support the community however I could and decided to get a hair cut as I was well overdue for one. Many of the children got their hair cut at Fun Kuts so I was happy to see all of the money raised by the Fun Kuts “Cut-a-Thon” went to those in need in the community.
It was such a powerful experience and I'm glad I had the chance to go and pay my respects to a town and community that lost so much but has somehow found a way to stand together. Together we all stand with you Newtown and Sandy Hook. |
Brian Theoret | Notes in the Sandboxa collection of writing, reflection, inspiration... Archives
November 2018
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