Passing Through Slaughter
Michael Vander Does where were you when when? I was in the Murrah Building I was at ground zero in for a penny in for a year it’s in the plumbing leaching begins in the mouth life or death ain’t it mundane? I was dancing in Pulse I was hiding in a pit in Ludlow going to church in Birmingham laughter is the light we catch the falling rain with our fingertips suffering’s where the serious truths lie down with the beat throw down with the bleat of the lamb on the lam I was in Nagasaki Dresden Auschwitz I was at Kent State I was in Johannesburg (what's the word?) Johannesburg I was in Flint Where? where history’s poisons overwhelm arrowheads travel synapse to synapse slower and more slowly leach promise away from our fingertips it won’t be me they’re coming for I’m white I'm straight I’m a man yes I am I was at Wounded Knee Salt Creek I was at Fort Pillow I was in Attica prison Soledad I was playing in a park in Cleveland towers of laughter and light I was just passing through then I wasn't words have memories where were you when you heard the terrible news? the red triangle the black triangle when a flower sings you know it is nothing voices of the dead just passing through words have melodies when read we each hear different songs how long did it take to learn to laugh again? to see the towers again? |
|
About the Author: Michael Vander Does is a JazzPoet filmmaker from Columbus, Ohio. He has been published here and there. Favorites include The Croton Review, Negative Capability, Connotation Press, Istanbul Literary Review, Carbon Culture Review, and Tryst. He performs on trombone and poetry with The JazzPoetry Ensemble. They have released three CDs: the most recent, Thanamattapoeia, with Edward “Kidd” Jordan, and Motherless Acoustivore, with Kidd and Hamiet Bluiett. For the last several years, the JPE has been performing with avant-garde jazz greats like Kidd, D.D. Jackson, and Bluiett.More can be found here. Michael’s poetry is much informed by this music. He has received a few awards from the likes of the Ohio Arts Council and Puffin Foundation West. He is active in the community, presenting and promoting modern poetry, avant-garde jazz, and civil rights. He has a colorful all-yard garden also informed by avant-garde jazz.