Rise on Up
I’m looking at George Floyd
on the cover
of The New Yorker
and he seems sad
looking south
into lands lost on the Delta
where cotton in the seam
covers the dreams of those
lost in dreams deferred
where hope is not allowed
and tears can see
the pure brilliance of invisible men
picking cotton
in the humid chill of mourning
down in the callous hollow
where the women come and go
chatting about their hydrangeas
where did the summer go
and how does it measure
a life lived in the cross hairs
of subliminal annihilation
step out of the vehicle
license and registration please
arms raised
arms up like Ezekiel holding the wheel
holding up against all hope
against the wall
that divides us all
and in that holding
a life is defined
a life is lived large
go down Moses
go down to the river
where the waters of redemption flow
and in that flow
we hug the lost raisins
so they don’t explode
and we know
that the flow
is rising on up
Mark Hammerschick writes poetry and fiction. He holds a BA in English from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and a BS and MBA. He is a lifelong resident of the Chicago area and currently lives on the north shore, his professional career has been in digital strategy and online consulting. His current work will be published in The Metaworker, Vext Magazine, The Write Launch and Meat for Tea: The Valley Review.
Art: “Phoenix Rising” by Sandy Coomer - 12X12, acrylic pour on claybord
Statement: The spirit of hope and dreams rise like a bird out of ashes, up and up, beyond the dirt and into a glorious sky.