Sarah Endo’s most recent poem here was Yes. Her poem If I stop to pick up a leaf was published as part of Contributor Series 3: Resolution and Resolve, included in the anthology From 9/11 to a New Year, and nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
Bearing Witness
By Sarah Endo
I have moved to break the betrayal
of my own silences and to speak
from the burnings of my own heart.
–Martin Luther King Jr
I see you on the street.
I’m on a soporific drive
baby nodding off
behind me. But you stand
holding signs that plead, Stop
the war in Afghanistan
End all wars. Yes!
I think, but
how do we end all wars
or even this one? Maybe
you don’t know either but
you ask. Today you’re
beneath a clear warm sky
but I see you too
on damp and biting
days, your parka sparkling
green, your hair more
white than gray, you’re old
enough to be
my mom or dad
Your words shake me to wake
even as I lull my baby
to sleep
Wonderful poem, Sarah! This is so stark and powerful. Thank you, as always, for your wonderful words!
It’s amazing to me how thing evolve.