* * * Trigger warning, this is about what weve done to children, or allowed to be done in our name, in the past century-plus -- pass this by if youre not feeling strong right now * * * My Name Engraved  Afterlife East of the sea a strip of desert They gather unblinking look at me. The red-haired boy Waits I see his eyes Sick and hungry he lies on musty straw the potatoes black and liquid in the field. He looks at his hands -- opens them. A creature gray-skinned moist struggles and writhes. Gaza Thunder boomed Lightning danced under the planes Five hundred and one children Joined the Afterlife Sobbing silent they saw the quiet ones around them. Wounded Knee Half a world away, a score and century ago The Lakota children played leapfrog in the snow The first volley cut them down On a litter with pneumonia raged the man with three names – Bigfoot, Spotted Elk, Si Tanka. The children dance and play In time and memory -- My name engraved the guns of Wounded Knee. Murrieta, California Fleeing murder in the south Mother and children saw screaming white faces below. Their bus turned around. New Orleans In the Superdome after Katrina, They formed lines for everything Murders and child rapes were only rumors They suffered Hot Fetid Miserable Gretnas sheriff barred the way to safety. Detroit A city abandoned “The waters not for you, kid; your mother aint paid the bill.” Vietnam Operation Phoenix A village name, the Armys shame Bodies in ditches. Napalmed Mouth wide Arms out Naked. The Pentagon made sure we never saw those scenes again They happened every time we went to war. Wounded Knee Through that cold day The 7th Cavalry hunted hundreds Wheeled my namesake cannon to the mouths of sheltering ravines Killed men, women, children Lakota warriors rode to save some children Twenty soldiers received the highest medal of the land. The children dance and play In time and memory; My name engraved the guns of Wounded Knee. Afterlife She stands among them on the desert shore Faded dress, buttons down the front bare feet, sandy unbrushed hair She waves her hand I see her eyes I hear her scream -- “Daddy, no!” I see the flash of red. Saco, Maine A whole family lay The bullets spiked them to the floor Their father claimed their souls. Nova Scotia The priest, the power Headmaster of Schubenacadie Residential School “Kill the Indian, save the child” Murder, rape, experiments Across the continent, thousands never left the schools alive. Afterlife The silent children leave the shore Black earth receives them Before he goes The red-haired boy opens his hands The gray creature drops to the sand Crawls toward the waves. Falmouth, Maine Friday at the Reiki clinic I saw seven great wings swoop among the ghost children My hands touched the people in my care. Wounded Knee The children dance and play, in time and memory. My name engraved the guns of Wounded Knee. Blessings, Jeffrey Hotchkiss November 8, 2014 © 2014 Jeffrey Hotchkiss – please distribute freely, including this notice With deep gratitude to longtime friends Bob and Christine Howes, and especially to Christine for her fearless review of and vast improvements to the above
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 01:15:07 +0000
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