Poetry 2000-.....

We Shall Overcome

May as well include the Emergency Room experience at Keene's finest Cheshire Medical Center. Warning: It is NOT an emergency if you can ambulate, breathe, or speak coherently. You will only set yourself up for MANY HOURS sitting in the waiting room. And of course, there's the smaller "waiting room" when you actually get in there to see a doc.  Bleeding is negotiable. End of story. I've seen it for over 15 years and hear it ALL the time from others. Here it is:
 

We Shall Overcome

I sit in the emergency room
My daughter sleeps again
They can't see her suffering
So we'll have to sit 'til when
Into this eternity
Where no one seems to care
The sadness makes me tired
I drift away from here
To a place that is serene
Where urgency is gone
I'm a mother invisible
No longer quite so strong
She doesn't know I'd die for her
Or that I'm afraid of those
Who distort my every move
This evil they impose
To separate our souls within
Rip my heart asunder
How my friends can't understand
Or hear the angels' thunder
I'm calling in the wilderness
Can you see me for the crowd?
I'm the self-conscious wanderer
Chanting prayers out loud
I plead out to the Universe
To circle 'round us here
Send me Ariel of old
Please take away this fear
And if they do destroy me
My body is no more
Guide my child to the Light
Show her the ancient door
On the other side she's safe
Skyla Dove above the earth
No shadows shall forsake her
Or lie about her birth
My spirit shall stand by her
And slay the Devil low
I am empowered now
More than they'll ever know.

     Ciera Sky Louise 

     c. December 23, 2003