Paintings by Pablo Picasso (Collected from Internet)
Flight
She sings outside his window
the sweetness of spring
new life, new home
he watched for days
as she laid every twig with care
stealing hair from the dog
cotton from the old deck chair
building her nest
then laying her eggs
he saw them hatch
tiny little beaks
opened
waiting within that nest
for food
for Mom to return
he waited and saw them
take flight
tiny wings outstretched
and then gone
too soon
he witnessed the summer storms
huff and puff
and destroy the tiny house of twigs
so meticulously created
a temporary home, shelter
a reminder
that in the end
we are all subject to the elements
Yielding
I cannot yield
This moment in time is too much of a slippery slope
digging in my heels
applying the breaks
into the soft wet earth
only creates more mud.
I have no roots
Neither concrete nor wooden walls above my head
the stars are my nightlights
the moon is my clock
the earth is my bed
the city hundreds of miles away.
I am a stranger in this land
Displaced from my home, I cannot yield
exhausted – and yet I cannot sleep
hungry – and yet I cannot stop to eat
weary – and yet I cannot rest
my god, have you forsaken me?
Another diaspora
A different day, a different age and yet
the displacement is all the same
one family, one race, one people
desperate for freedom, for a chance at life
they cannot yield to those who oppress
and so they march on.
About the Poet
Lori Ann Kusterbeck’s first poem was published at age 12. As a teen, she had over a dozen poems featured in Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer newspaper. Her first chapbook Back\words & For/words was published by the Poet’s Haven Press in 2013. Most recently, she took home second place in the 2015 Hessler Street Fair poetry contest. Residing in Cleveland, she holds an MA in Philosophy and teaches college classes in philosophy and humanities. To read more of her work and to view her catalog of published pieces, visit her website at http://sincerelylori.com.
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