Two Poems Honoring the GAR Dedication by Robert Earl Price

Another Juneteenth

A sestina for the G.A.R. Post #25 re-opening, June 21, 2014

 

This place a nugget of gold in a sea of clay
Today we stand on precious ground
A stoned arch bridging many an uncertain day
A monument for shoulder-to-the-grindstone will
We come to bear witness and to bare our hearts
Here where the past is buried in the marrow of bones

Wind chimed clank and clang of dry bones
A chalice of wisdom from fired clay
Reverent music poured into open hearts
Many colors carpet this hallowed ground
This is a cornerstone of will
The founders’ foresight promised us this day

Raise the pennants and praise the day
The drummer lives in incus bones
Trees planted by the waters of will
A joyful insistence encrypted in this clay
Let hurrahs and hallelujahs shake the ground
And stir the longing in our hearts

Ella scatting an anthem for our hearts
Spirit movers, seekers of a breaking day
The visionary’s broom sweeping this ground
This monument to long buried bones
Tread carefully over this layered clay
Built by communal warriors of will

On the road to glory by grace and will
The boon of freedom glowing in our hearts

Moisten the yard and pack down the clay
Fry the fish and fixings to celebrate the day
And set the legends sifting through our bones
Our dancing DNA moonwalking on sacred ground

Today a tower of tolerance stands on hard won ground
Today we acknowledge the power of a righteous will
Today we refresh dreams and replenish the legacy of bones
Today our heroes rest in the shelter of our hearts
Today a day like no other day
Today we patina the world in a crust of clay

Praise to this persistent will, that seized this day
Protect this swirling ground and blood mottled clay
Place the merit bones of our past in the trove of our hearts

 

••••

A Praise Song For Our Ancestors

(Charles Sumner Post #25 reopening June 21, 2014)

We are dancing in the swirling light
Of an old communal circle
Our clasped hands are a link
Between back then and someday
Our presence here testament
To this cathedral of memory
We are the children of their children’s children
Progeny of blood and lash
A testament to solidarity
A monument to courage
This hall is an act of collective will
It embraces passive ingenuity
Conjured in a mist of secrets
Our elders unraveled the coffle of lynch laws
Wearing the skin of determination
We rejoice because those elders
Those wisdom trees
Are rooted in ancient traditions
Once again we inhabit this fleeting scent
This perfume of power, this stairway of determination
Today is both homecoming and uprising
We stand on the rock where the strong folks stood
We praise the freedom fighters
Praise the kinsmen of justice
And the persistent peace seekers
Oh we are here to salute the stalwarts
The solemn shapers
Who first danced and danced and danced
Proud spirited grace
Swirling in the army hall
Certain that this day would come

Now we rise, a fresh wave breaking over a new day
We stand here
On the shoulders of those purposeful people
We walk in their footsteps
We stand in the long shadow proud folks
People who would not wallow
In the muck and mire
Of ash and tear,
They created this neutral site,
This village square
This precious palace
A University of their own
A magical music box
Producing a sound track
For the long trek toward justice
Voting rights measured by the square foot
Human reverence spread like flowers over
The graves of ALL of the fallen

We re-inhabit this place of promise
We come here in praise of men and women
That marched, voted, and danced
With fierce determination
We return with respectful praise
For the sepia shadows and lingering memories
Swirling in the army hall
Dancing in that dappled light
‘Tween dream and memory
That way sorrow, this way home
Fraternal spirits bobbing and weaving
In the flickering rays of remembrance
Let today become a verse
In a song of exultation
A praise song for the Colored Vets
A praise song for the benevolent women
A praise song for the keepers of the vision

(We serenade all who have brought us to this gathering place
To harvest the rewards of a self determined future.} (repeat)