Sunday, December 15, 2013

Renew


Renew

After weather
and the eyes of generations
the white house
reveals its rotting boards,
still withstanding
the winter winds
that pulled the cotton flowers
from their knotted fingers.
Once dressed in unbroken white
she has protected
her family
from the typeset headlines
and dying soil,
but now struggles
in pastel yellow,
blending into the horizon
of grass and grain.
We want to bring renewal,
but only the owner
can paint you.

-Robert L. Jackson III


Sunday, December 8, 2013

Each's Babylon

Each seeks a tower,
abandoned or built,
unguarded by steel
armor or blades,
to close the divine distance
and increase their view.
Some chisel new clean blocks
from the cleansed and uncovered rock,
while others use remnants,
rounded and covered in moss.
Searching amongst the trees
and city lines,
the tallest options
often are never considered
due to the effort required
to ascend their spirals
before they crumbles.
Some never stay
in one corrugated nest
after seeing the green valley
and shiny steeples beyond.
Few realize that our heads
need only the height
of our spines to achieve ease,
because earth contains 
the common elements of the sky.

-Robert L. Jackson III