A Poet's Letter for a Time Capsule
Do our pictures seem dull next to yours? Are you proudly nude, wondering why our clothes flirted And provoked? You will say things Outright. Are my grandchildren among you? Some loves were not for our time. Did I find mine Again? Do they have her eyes? Did enlightening come to the cities alleys And radios, or did the hateful crimson river Drown a future of poets? Have you felled borders like we felled Trees? How many times have you burned Your cities? How many books? Have I burned Futile logs to keep warm? Is there still the penchant for loving Tyrants with faces like hand dogs Born last and blue Who snarl and move slowly? Are you any different from us? By then, Have you made a way to send back Not texts (No one reads; Our malicious exploit the language.) Or people with wings and bright eyes--but Mirrors that have borne your reflections? |
When Kip asked me to be part of an artists’ exchange inspired by Benjamin Franklin, my first idea immediately revolved around what Ben Franklin would make of the times in which we know live if he were alive today. The work that I have submitted little resembles what I originally envisioned. What has not changed, however, is the feeling that instead of bestowing upon us all the pithy and wise slogans for which he has been credited, Franklin would be full of difficult questions not only for our heads of state, but the common people on the street, as well. I feel that these would not just be the inquiries of a curious man out of place and time, but questions like: How have you served your liberty? What does your freedom mean to you?
I would like to thank Kip Deeds for the opportunity to participate and all the wonderful and industrious artists who made this possible.
