Tuesday, October 03, 2017

A Poem and an Explanation...

Jimmy Carter at the opening of his Sunday School class
It's been two weeks since I've blogged (or caught up with the blogs of others).  I am not sure why for I haven't been that busy.  But the weather is cooler and I have taken long walks in the evening.  Other evenings I've spent watching Ken Burn's "The Vietnam War" and reading.  Among the books I've been reading has been Diarmaid MacCullouch's The Reformation; David McCullough's The Wright Brothers, Michael Herr's Dispatches (If  you're interested in Vietnam from the soldier's POV, read it); Archibald Ruthledge's Peace in the Heart; and several books of poetry including Anya Krugovoy Silver's Second Bloom.  The other night, I began the poem below after reading a chapter in Ruthledge's book and a number of Silver's poems.  

I still have several drafts of blogs I need to finish and post from my trip in June/July to Scotland, as well as my experiences this weekend as we visited Plains and Andersonville, Georgia.  On Sunday, we were in Jimmy Carter's Sunday School. It was a treat and exceeded my expectations even though we arrived early (6 AM) while it was still dark.  As I joked, I don't normally go to Baptist churches but when I do, it's under the cover of darkness and a former President is teaching Sunday School.  (It was also Jimmy Carter's birthday so in a way I felt that I along with a few hundred other folks crashed his party).  Now for the poem: 


Resurrection

There is a section in the Hastings Cemetery where children who died during or before birth are buried.  This area is at the back corner of the cemetery, on a ledge overlooking the river. A few years ago during a spring flood, some of the graves were lost to the Thornapple, a river that flows into the Grand and then in Lake Michigan as its waters make its way to the sea.


Bury me with the children who died prematurely
and planted in simple graves, at the back of the cemetery,
far from the gaze of the mourner, ‘cept broken-hearted parents.

Bury me under a huge sycamore,
whose broad leaves shade the ground in summer
and white bark appears ghostly on a foggy morn.

Bury me where the river makes its sharp bend
its swift waters carving into the bank.
There, I can hear the river’s call as it rushes past. 

Bury me close to the ledge where in a few years or maybe a century,
a spring flood will free me and those kids
and I’ll lead them on a grand adventure.

In our box boats we’ll shoot through the gates of the Middleville and Irving dams,
forgetting the dangers for it no longer matters to the dead.
We’ll laugh as we catch an eddy below and float in circles.

At Alaska, the village-not the state, we’ll shoot the rapids
and when we meet the Grand we’ll chat with those fishing for salmon
and wave to the pedestrians on the bridges at Grand Rapids.

I hope it is night, with waves breaking over the piercing lighthouse,
when we leave the river at Holland, for the lake.  We’ll then float more slowly
watching the lights on shore fade from sight as we navigate by the north star.

Time will slow as we slip from one lake to another
and over those falls at Niagara that terrify all but the dead,
before making our way into Canada and down that great waterway.

And years later, if our wooden boats hold up, we’ll slip out the St. Lawrence
and into the cold waters of the North Atlantic along with ice bergs,
riding the Gulf Stream as it heads north and then east and back south.

We’ll bed down with wintering puffins
and watch whales play as they ply the sea, while we pass
Iceland and the Faroes, Scotland and Ireland, and on beyond the Azores.

Bury me with the children, in the back of the cemetery,
And in time the river will call and we’ll float
to where peaceful waters gather. 


-jg  September 2017

19 comments:

  1. I believe Jimmy Carter is our greatest living statesman. While his presidency was not a success, his post presidency has been extraordinary.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've been watching the series on Vietnam too. Fortunately I have it on my DVR so I can watch it in smaller increments than 90 minutes at a time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What lovely poem.
    I love Jimmy Carter too. A really good man.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I know very well about my baby that died much 2 early, friend Sage ... so much 2 b said but better to b kept quiet ... Love, cat

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a lovely, poignant poem!

    Not a great fan of Carter's politics or presidency, I do greatly admire his humanitarian work (especially his work with Habitat) and would love to attend his SS class.

    I'm married to a Vietnam vet and he tends to be too critical of things portraying the war, so we don't watch many.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm not sure about Jimmy Carter, he always seemed a nice man who happened to be POTUS at the wrong time.
    It takes balls to publish a poem, well done.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I really like the poem, very well written Sir.

    I have a lot of respect for Jimmy Carter now.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The poem is excellent, bringing both sadness and charm to the unknowable --returning to the tremendous operations of the universe. As for Mr. Carter, his presidency spanned a very busy time in my life. I remember the Energy and Hostage Crises, but was most impressed with his humanistic approach to government and felt, when our country entered difficult times he would see us through them. This is a very good and moving post, Sage, thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Curtis - that must have been a lovely experience being able to spend time in ex President Carter's company - he has done some amazing humanitarian work. Your poem resonates so well - a story or two there ... congratulations - cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
  10. I like the poem very much, particularly the part about the grand adventure! :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lovely poem! It’s very cool that you got to see Jimmy Carter.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Loved the poem. When the weather gets nicer it's always nice to get out and take a bit of a walk.

    ReplyDelete
  13. You're an incredible poet, Sage. I had no idea. You took an incredibly stark, sober topic and lifted it with eloquence and beauty. I nudge you to enter this one in contests...publish it more, far and wide. It's a real gift.

    ReplyDelete
  14. ... bury me standing cuz I have been praying on my knees too long ...

    ReplyDelete
  15. "It's been two weeks since I've blogged (or caught up with the blogs of others).  I am not sure why for I haven't been that busy"

    I think sometimes, it's nice to take a little break and enjoy some walks.
    Sometimes other things in life take over for a while and blogging goes on the back-burner.
    For whatever reason the joy is we can return to it when it suits us better ...

    I did enjoy the poem

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your poem is amazing, Sage! And I'm glad you got to see Jimmy Carter - I admire him so much. That's on my bucket list.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Haunting poem, Sage! I never want to be buried, though. I'd want to be free! How lovely that you got to go to Jimmy Carter's Sunday School. I had mixed feelings about him as a president, but he has been an amazing former president. I come from Baptist stock, but have long left it behind ~ too fond of wine, dancing, and cards! My fingers can never keep up with my mind when it comes to blog posts. I need a clone. Have a great week, my friend!

    ReplyDelete