If All the World’s a
Cage, … ?
Episode 1: Opus of our ages
Chum was a baritone.
In a cacophony of siblings he tuned out.
Dressed in manly muscle, disposed to callouses,
he sang havenward, a barista on the edge of
other,
in the hungry spirit of the nation – in a
world at war.
Chum-me, food-ration stamps once in-hand on a
butter errand
Blinks life out of focus, stoned by the smell
of coffee.
The unquestionable truth slips into dark-sided
possible.
Catapulted, not coerced, holding still to
unifying News.
Radio, rations and service. Filling life
preserves with milkweed kapok
Together – a future in business – an only son.
Episode 2: Colors of the Cages
Papy did not hug.
Hand-speaking and baked in the mold: high
demand, no mistakes,
he colored between the blood-lines,
kept his stories closely guarded, read the
paper
watched the nightly news. His world with color
bars
on TV and discomfort about a women’s movement
gathered some light, corrugated placards
readied for ‘half-baked’,
(his words) resistance, well-worn Crayolas,
unboxed
and a brick. His war was also a “conflict”.
Overalls, backpack, 10-speed road ready bike
and brick.
Author,ing lines of resistance - to author –
ity.
An eldest daughter – goes off to college
prepared for brick,ing.
Episode 3: Aromatic Inner sages
Has every one smelled
the coffee?
A rear-view mirror on
history beset us with melancholy and foreboding
We have the days of
our fathers, the years of our distance and now –
Memory resides in
lines. We return again and again. We keep them safely guarded.
Our lenses scratched.
Vision muted with walls of images, words and
Adult Coloring Books
with fanciful color within the lines whimsy. Brick’ing is legendary.
The war – is on
Truth
~~~
The prompt was to write a poem with a partner for the title drawn randomly. We drew All the World a Cage. My partner and I both said we were feeling oppressed by the challenges truth appeared to be having especially in the now varied and constant media and this phrase immediately brought that top of mind. Before gathering I had started a poem somewhat on the topic of resistance - searching my own history with advocacy for justice. It was very incomplete. My notes follow with the exception of the inserted "title".
Brick,ing
I pledge to resist, author
ing lines of movements
resistance to form
to voice, author-ity,
Father did not hug, Baked in the mold
high demand, no mistakes
hand speaking, Papy preferring to color be
-tween the blood lines.
Crayolas, unboxed
corrugate readied for
'half baked' (his words)
resistance, a brick.
overalls, backpack, bike and brick --
for college, for now, for how?
All the worlds a cage
damaged beyond repair
utterly un-savable.
