Writing Through Hard Times — April 2020
Each month, the Denver VOICE publishes a selection of writing from workshops sponsored by Lighthouse Writers Workshop.
The Hard Times Writing Workshop is a collaboration between Denver Public Library and Lighthouse Writers Workshop. This workshop is open to all members of the public—especially those experiencing homelessness.
The Lighthouse sponsored workshop at The Gathering Place is specifically for that organization’s clients.
To check out more writing by the poets featured in this column, go to writedenver.org.
Michael-Roman Dixon
A Love Poem
In this garden there were flowers named after
women I have loved. There was Rose and Violet
Lilly and Iris. There was Dahlia and Aster,
Hyacinth and Holly. There was Jasmine
Willow, Magnolia and Rosemary and
then there was Daisy and Zinnia. I asked
the flowers about the one I loved more
than any of them. “Where is the flower
named Rachel?” And the flowers said in unison,
“Oh Rachel? She’s not a flower; she’s the Sun.
She gives us our beauty and for this she
is the most beautiful.”
Pete Simon
The Gods of Oil Were Pleased
And the Gods of Oil gathered;
the Seven Sisters spewing
gaseous clouds of death
melting ice caps, unleashing
centuries-old viruses, which
had been frozen dormant;
giving those agents of death new life
to wreak havoc on an
unsuspecting populace; viruses
for which there was no cure. …
And the Gods of Oil said
it was good, because
the melting of that ice
meant profits for them and
profits were holy;
the masses be damned;
and they were.
Dean Glorso
2020 a Decade of Clear Vision
At the beginning of this New Year
East still rushes West
A turning world tips a card
Only briefly
Stay alert look for clues
Where to go what to do
More rumblings in the Middle East
A warming earth cried at birth
Drifting landmasses
Dissecting territorial species
Soon humans began to graze
Are we the keepers of the earth?
Or just parasites here to consume
Shove the thoughtfulness overboard
Squeeze good intentions to the brink
Dangle not a petroleum crown
But praise a Nation
Where the brightest minds
Learn to agree
Through compromise
Elberta
Someone’s Son (Inspired by Jim Moses’ poem “Do You Need a Friend?”)
He’s oblivious, just standing there
crowds pass him, and they sure stare.
He’s in front of our library, high on drugs.
Did he have a mother who gave him hugs?
Did he drop out of school ‘cause he was cool?
He’s the youngest one in Civic Center Park,
and he’s usually talking to himself way after dark.
Who helped him get messed up like that?
He has a coat, but not a hat.
Who’s “babysitting” him for all the wrong reasons?
We’ll pray that he lives through the next three seasons.
Lord, put your angels around him tonight.
Maybe tomorrow, we’ll all see the light.