beyond the conversations
By Rima Vesely-Flad
Thursday, March 18, 2004
the daffodils are blooming along st. nicholas avenue
sunlight falling upon color framing high brick
walls cracked pavement day laborers eating
their hard hats shining under the glare
i sit in shadows hours later, words scattering,
exploding in my mind white supremacy a
society hemorrhaging in the wake of apartheid
a way of being holocaust
the intensity of these worlds collides the drive
towards solitude rooted inner quietness
the urge to articulate chaos and rage dwelling
within those inner and outer spheres. and beneath
it all, the inevitable conversations the dream
of a common language
today the air is crisp, cold. i run hard
my breath escaping in fast gulps of air.
no art to this but fury, quietness, the
intricate weaving and unweaving of so
many knowns, unknowns, and the
anger and love beneath it all
beyond the conversations with companions
in my head there fields of
daffodils no walls in sight
only cups of yellow gold fragile in quiet sun.
Rima Vesely-Flad is director of the Interfaith Coalition of Advocates for Reentry and Employment (ICARE) and an instructor at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, N.Y. She lives in New York City. She may be reached by email at nyicare@earthlink.net.