Red Letter Poem #156

 The Red Letters

 

 

In ancient Rome, feast days were indicated on the calendar by red letters.  To my mind, all poetry and art serves as a reminder that every day we wake together beneath the sun is a red-letter day.

 

                                                                                                          – Steven Ratiner

 

 

 

 

Red Letter Poem #156

 

 

The tradition of appointing a United States Poet Laureate goes back decades, but I am heartened by the recent proliferation of Laureate positions in cities and towns all across the country. It seems to me to reflect both a desire for a kind of spokesperson for the soul of a community – but also our anxiety that perhaps we, individually, might not possess the words that need to be said, especially in these tumultuous times. I think it’s important to note how diverse are the voices and visions of the poets receiving this mantle, an acknowledgment perhaps that we as a people can be united without necessarily being homogeneous. In her essay "Warning, Witness, Presence", the poet Eavan Boland wrote this about the deep roots of the bardic tradition in her own native Ireland: “Their poems were remembered, recited, kept alive in an oral tradition. Despite the tragedy of their decline, they proved that poetry could keep company with the ordeals of a people." I think this is part of the job description of every poet, but especially those who have accepted this public commission. I am delighted today to bring you the work of the Poet Laureate of Alexandria, Virginia. Zeina Azzam is a Palestinian-American whose family arrived in this country when she was ten. She’s published one chapbook and has appeared widely in journals; today’s poem is from her new collection Some Things Never Leave You (Tiger Bark Press) that will be issued early this summer. She also helps foster the talents of young Palestinians in Gaza as part of We Are Not Numbers, a virtual mentorship program offered by writers from Europe and the US.



Zeina’s poem focuses on the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria, but it also prompted me to reflect on events closer to home. In the Boston area this week, there’ll be two public commemorations of significance; the first marks ten years since the bombing at the Boston Marathon that took the lives of three individuals and gruesomely wounded 281 runners and spectators at the finish line of the race. We here remember the area-wide lockdown a few days later as police sought out the two domestic terrorists who perpetrated the attack. A decade on, and we remain united in our grief – but in my mind, I’d prefer that the anniversary celebrate the extraordinary efforts that Monday by first responders, medical centers, and even heroic bystanders on blood-soaked Boylston Street – a community coming together in unprecedented ways, and earning the appellation Boston Strong. But this week, we also laid to rest Mel King – politician, community organizer extraordinaire, tireless educator – whose barrier-breaking 1983 mayoral campaign reached into every neighborhood in the city (including places a Black man might have hesitated to visit at that time.) His grassroots movement gave rise to the very first Rainbow Coalition, a term that has since taken hold nationally. Mel – who also wrote poetry, I’m delighted to note – has this signature line as his legacy: “Love is the question and the answer” and it guided all his 94 years on this planet. If I peruse the week’s headlines, it’s clear to me that the questions we’re facing now feel more dire and encompassing than at almost any time in recent memory. It is far from certain how this community, this country will respond to the challenges.



In Zeina’s lovely lyric, she’s using language to extend her compassion halfway around the planet. The people of the Middle East have suffered far more than their share of human-made disasters in recent times, with political clashes often resulting in armed conflict – so it seems grossly unfair for Mother Nature to add to their burden. In her litany of blessings, Zeina is celebrating the aspect of humanity that feels compelled to alleviate suffering – and the enduring spirit that wants to hold on to what precious life is within our grasp. It’s hard not to feel the unspoken question within the poem: what will we do when calamity, in its multiplicity of forms, erupts before us? Is love indeed that bedrock question, revealing what resides deep within us? And will we find the strength to answer in the affirmative?





Prayer for Syria



“When she was rescued, baby Aya was still connected to her mother by her umbilical cord. Her mother, father and all four of her siblings died after the quake hit the town of Jindayris.”



––BBC News, February 10, 2023





Bless the bruised infant, hours old. Bless her life spirit, the holding on.

Bless the mother whose womb sheltered the child,

whose final push was her final breath

was her final mercy.

Bless the umbilical cord that continued to nourish under the rubble.

Bless the sibling souls who wanted to protect their tiny sister.

Bless the father who tried.

Bless the innocent and the brave crushed by walls and floors from above,

injured or dead by fires and flying glass.



Bless the hands that heft heavy stones,

the ears that hear fading cries,

the town that toils on and on.

Bless the doctors and nurses and medicines,

the suturing, the setting of bones,

the healing.

Bless those who bring food and water and warmth.

Bless the ones who sew the shrouds and bury the dead.

Bless the prayerful who bestow grace and blessings.

Bless the life spirit, the holding on, the holding on.





––Zeina Azzam

 

 

The Red Letters 3.0

 

* If you would like to receive these poems every Friday in your own in-box – or would like to write in with comments or submissions – send correspondence to:

steven.arlingtonlaureate@gmail.com

 

 

* To learn more about the origins of the Red Letter Project, check out an essay I wrote for Arrowsmith Magazine:

https://www.arrowsmithpress.com/community-of-voices

 

and the Boston Area Small Press and Poetry Scene

http://dougholder.blogspot.com

 

* For updates and announcements about Red Letter projects and poetry readings, please follow me on Twitter          

@StevenRatiner