Falling: A Poem
This is our first student produced blog post, which is a poem. In the next couple of days, we will be adding more students’ reflections and images.
Falling: A Poem
first
stop
tell me what you see
before i tell you
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
i see my brother
far left
the one in the baseball cap
leaning in to say something
funny
that’s him
and
my grandpa
on the right
happily solitary
gazing up
probably wondering
about the stars
or something
but if you want to know
these people
are not my family
i don’t know their names
i don’t know their stories
to me
they are just curious silhouettes
against a beautiful sky
i found on top
of a mountain
but look closer
how are these people
in comparison to the world
around them
the clouds
the grass in the foreground
the sun
the sky
they are smaller
than these things
don’t you see
the earth is much bigger
than who they are
as people
with open tents
what a tiny observation
but it got me thinking
about a secret
i learned here
you can be in on it too
just know that
secrets
don’t fit completely
in letters on a page
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
these people
on the mountain
they know something
that we do not
they know
that the road will
always break
that the sidewalks
will crumble
and the mountain
may fall
on their city
just as it did
seven months ago
in an earthquake
devastating
and still
in crumbles
they pray
to their god and
their winged saints
above their cities
they light incense
lay flowers lend
hands and
let be
because
they know
as we do not
that humans
are not the biggest
holder of power
when a lake nearby
was polluted
beyond help
do you know
what they did
they brought flowers
to the water
sick and dying
what a sad beautiful
thing
i know
humans have power
we all know this
and that power can save us
i know
you know
but what if
the next time darkness
falls upon us
we try something different
instead of rushing
to our box of solutions to
our money to
our science
we bring flowers
to the water
first
tell me
how would that feel
to you
can you remember a time
when this
is what we did
as the sun began to fall
over these people
on the mountain
into a million shattered lights
in the city below
i realized
what a beautiful wisdom
exists here
in my brothers my
sisters my grandpas
and aunts
i hope only that i can catch
a small handful of it
to bring back
-Sophia Marie
Mar. 29, 2024