the sublime landscape and the apocalypse
we walked through streets overgrown
with the detritus of desperate lives
bordered on both sides by high walls
of grey concrete reaching for a grey sky
plastic bags and candy wrappers
wafted upward like hawks on thermals
searching for a glimpse of heaven
as if by magic, we came upon a tree
not a towering, majestic tree
but a tree nonetheless, alive and thriving
growing through the concrete
like Lieber and Stoller’s rose
people stood in clumps around it
struck dumb by the shocking green
the finding was all that it took
for us to know there was hope
and more than hope, there was strength
strength enough to search these streets
for the next root, the next branch, the next tree
16 January 2013
Auburn, AL
/ / /
This poem is inspired by the work of artist Orion Wertz, who has a show right now at the Biggin Gallery at Auburn University. The title of the poem, and the line “the finding was all it took” are taken from the talk Wertz gave before the opening of the show. The image at the top of this post is Breeze (Detail, 2012). Orion Wertz. Oil on canvas, 33″ x 25.5″
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