whitetea
whitetea
Sep 19, 2020

Desert Flowers

Poem Body

​Graphing out the gridlock,

we waited, wordless,

sifting through labyrinthine sediments,

with questions not paired

with answers.

​How long will justice

stagger through

these deserts?

We plead, urgent. Coordinate now,

since those who darken our doors

will eventually mar your own.

The call

was not gifted. Months

staggered into years. Grief

still grants us checkered memos

in the arid summer evenings.

Listen.

Listen closely while these sisters are alive, blooming.

We must listen now to keep jingles of laughter

keep patchworks of joy

In quieted reverence, we must remember

this lost sorority

their heavy absence honored, never betrayed

by memory

About This Poem

Last Few Words: Dedicated to the Native American Women and Girls who have gone missing or were murdered. Native American Women are murdered at 9x the rate of other races in America.

Style/Type: Free verse

Review Request Direction: How was my language use?

Review Request Intensity: Please use care (this is a sensitive subject for me, do not critique harshly)

Editing Stage: Editing - draft

About the Author

Region, Country: United States, USA

Favorite Poets: Chrystos, Mark Strand, Adrienne Rich, Naomi Shihab Nye, Rachel M. Simon, Donald Justice, Mary Oliver, Nikki Giovanni, Alice Walker

More from this author

Comments

Gracy

Gracy

4 years 7 months ago

Sad but lovely tribute to native women. The same happens in Argentina, where I live. The conquerors, then the colonists and finally all settlers were/are cruel to them.
The title is fine, so is the content and I especially like the ending. I'll return, Gracy