Sunday, April 20, 2014

The Corpse of Hope (Poem)



The Corpse of Hope
by Tim Kavi

the old ones
took me up higher 
on the mountain
and they showed me 
a bag of remains

I said who is it?
they replied
the corpse of hope
I said: why do you show me this?

because it is long absent
from many hearts
in the world
missing from the ideas
and schemes of needy ones
trampled by the greedy ones

thrown away by the winds
of war and oppression
until it has about turned
to dust

bound up in an earthy bag
stirred up by a newcoming flag
and forgotten by many

in the highest places
they imagine they need not see it
and refuse to believe it
the new body of hope

those who cannot see 
those lower ones
I replied how can those 
lower see it
since it is up here?

easy, they replied me
hope has been hidden
by those in power
and repackaged as a lesser hope

one that is devoid of true power
some have called it
the promise of better times
or even the rights
to not be bothered

as long as you do not question
do not ask about
or wonder, 
where has the true hope gone?

then all will be all right
and the wise ones said
but it is for  greater
freedom, some have bled.

then the old ones
said to me, Can these bones live?
and I said only you know

bone to bone
flesh to flesh
the corpse of hope
lives again

becomes a great body
in the songs of protest
and the instruments of change

although those in power
do not freely give it
the body of hope
stirs in the masses that seem

below, hidden
to the asses that gleam
in the palaced abodes
above

until it shatters
the storied glass
windows and hallways
of oppression

while dancing in the streets
the newly empowered
people enjoy the hope
of a new tomorrow

while the others
long for the corpse of hope
and the familiar dusty bag
yet it is no longer found

in their possession.
for hope is a living breathed
out being
in the aftermath of which
there is no deceiving

for the corpse of hope
has been followed 
by the dialectical
birth of social justice.

Poet's Afterword:  On this day that many celebrate as
a day of resurrection, I long that hope too shall live. Another poem of protest.~~TK






Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Gaia--Not to Touch the Earth (new poem)




GAIA--Not to Touch the Earth (Poem)
by Tim Kavi

Gaia
speaking messages
not heard
there is quaking
terrible shaking

ridges of trembled history
continental drifts
of worries of collapsed kingdoms

underneath changing
geographies
of postpartum birthing
memories of the way things were

before flags were planted
before urban density
throwaways of modern and postmodern
plastics

filtered the purpose
of your message
but we still try
to touch you

to touch the Earth
to know your glory
to esteem and respect
to be moved by all

that you are.
we long to respect you
goddess

before it's too late.