Maybe he’s a listener
but probably
not to these words.
Perhaps he can see
the thousands
of fingers
pinched
around many
writing implements
to defend, destroy, defy
his very name.
But for no longer standing,
he’s a better dam
now than ever before.
Holding in all those dreams
to not fall
on barren land
but only
irrigate the crops
worth saving
and sometimes
that’s the whole plain
and sometimes
a single
dandelion.
There is no waste.
And in leisure
play in the pool
And in school
take the swimming lesson
And in old age
wade out a few feet
for memories’
sake.
The specter above and below
and certainly before
knows,
guides and forgives
with wit
and a phrase
turned just such a way
for all folk
because sometimes
there’s a certain accent
that sells
a joke better
and pulls tears
down
to the wells
of the cheeks.
(For Langston Hughes)
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