Arkansas skies, with birds that fly and bats that swoop
so much, like stars and tears, fall from this sky
a blanket over poverty
unseeing eyes looking down;
seeing abuse
spotting lonely
watching houses blown away
like the day I picked it up-
a little girl's summer dress
-blown into neighboring trees
before the wind finger the hem
dancing innocently around her ankles
Arkansas skies, I still ask why
and how, when and where
will we become the people we're called to be?
So many sights have been seen here,
so many memories will be left in this state
memories that have no place to stay in my mind
and many of these memories still very fine
though fine doesn't cancel out the pain
-the pain of the hurting I have seen.
On the inside more hurt than the outside seems.
Who is the little girl?
ReplyDeleteHer name is Tia - she's 5 and lives in a home where people all around her had their houses blown away in the tornado. We find her clothes and toys tossed into trees blocks away where we're cleaning. She was really sweet - I was picking up shingles and she wanted to help, but when she reached to pick one up it burned her little fingers (the shingles are black and it was over 100 degrees that day) so I told her if she put gloves on she could help. Isn't she the cutest!?
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