Poem by Poem

                                   —in memory of
                    Cynthia Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lance,
                    Rev. Depayne Middleton-Doctor,
                    Hon. Rev. Clementa Pinckney,
                    Tywanza Sanders, Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr.,
                    Rev. Sharonda Singleton, Myra Thompson
                    Shot and killed while at church.
                    Charleston, SC (6-18-2015), RIP
 

                           poem by        poem
we can end the violence
every day                        after
            every other day
9 killed in Charleston, South Carolina
they are not 9 they
are each one
                                         alive
we do not know
             you have a poem to offer
it is made of action—you must
search for it     run
outside and give your life to it
when you find it    walk it
back—blow upon it
carry it taller than the city where you live
when the blood comes down
do not ask          if
               it is your blood   it
is made of
              9             drops
                             honor them
wash them stop them
from falling

Copyright Credit: Juan Felipe Herrera, "Poem by Poem" from Notes on the Assemblage.  Copyright © 2015 by Juan Felipe Herrera.  Reprinted by permission of City Lights Books, www.citylights.com.