Even the Sky
Photo: Anthony Tran, Unsplash
Even the Sky
The heavens weep
for a world in pain
for the young who know not
what they have lost
and for those who do
where is justice?
even the sky
asks
without words
only clouds rain lament
with countless tears
why
the eternal question
we ask
though no human answers
so far
have fixed the divide
invisible to those who have
painfully obvious to those who have not,
trapped
on the suffering side of the line
generation
upon generation.
who will brave seeing
to even begin
to understand
to listen
empty handed
save a gritty hope
defying reason
logic
the odds of history
steely gaze
determined
to stay
to build
to create
even through tears.
….
This poem was inspired by a conversation with the collector of the Hope: Advent Tabiji Eggshell the day she told me she wanted to purchase it. She explained her work in the public school system, the gaping divide she sees between the haves and the have nots, and the devastating effects of poverty and the pandemic on the students she serves. She wanted the Hope Tabiji Eggshell to be on her office desk as a reminder of where to focus her energy as she and her colleagues seek to navigate this strange season in education and humanity. I could feel the heartbreaking gravity of it all as she and I talked. She is doing such hard, important, necessary work. My prayer is that the art would be a strong companion for her heart as she brings hope to people who may have given up on it long ago - or maybe have never known it at all.
Each piece of my art has its own particular ministry - its own song to sing in a particular place for a particular person. This is only revealed when it connects with the person meant to own it. There’s an immediate knowing, a belonging that seems to happen. It’s deeply satisfying for me to see the work find its true home. This piece generated quite a dynamic creative synergy - I created the art, the collector knew it had to be hers, her telling my why inspired more art (this poem). It’s a wonderfully life-giving cycle.