Thursday, September 4, 2014

When Imaginings Stun



  War Child. .  Artist:  Michael D. Edens

Imagine

Imagine nothing to read or write
no way to watch your saffron thoughts
unfurl in gray graphite on pristine sheets of white

Imagine loneliness without solitude
no way to swim between friends and lovers
and the treasured company of your own secret muse

Imagine only filthy, brackish water
or no water at all to cleanse your body, inside or out
no clean springs in which to play by graceful glades

Imagine children conceived in rage and revenge
mothers without means to provide, to protect,
endless explosions stilling life on killing grounds

Imagine knowing only
war
poverty
ignorance
powerlessness
hunger

Imagine dying before you are old enough to know who you are

~ ~ Jamie Dedes

First published in Poets Against the War (February 2010).

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Words and an image -- from poet  Jamie Dedes and artist Michael D. Edens, who once gave me their kind permission to share their creations on my poetry blog over at Salamander Cove. I would like to re-share them again today.