To Joy

—Anonymous Photo

FOR JOY HARJO, OUR TURQUOISE MADONNA,
AS NATIONAL POETESS
—Joseph Nolan, Stockton, CA

    for Joy Harjo, named US Poet Laureate, June, 2019

Oh,
Our turquoise-robed Madonna!
I have seen you standing
In my mental vision,
Standing thinly—
Standing lithely—
Standing blithely—
Standing for grace!
Oh!
How we most need, now,
Blessed grace!

I wait for your coming
Into our TV screens
From YouTube TV
To the American people
Who are most in need
Of your sermons.

Tell us what it means
To be free of genocide.
Not by the last, lost slaughter,
But by the death of pride
For being different.

Bless us with belonging!
In our dreadful
Stage of
Blinding rage,
When we are sent to kill
Innocent civilians
In foreign lands
We will, we might,
Or could,
Even though
We know
We never
Should.

_________________

Today’s thanks to Joseph Nolan for his poem to Joy Harjo, the new US Poet Laureate, and congratulations to her! For more info, see www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/joy-harjo and/or poets.org/poet/joy-harjo?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-uOenKCk4wIVC_5kCh1_Owi8EAAYASAAEgIwi_D_BwE/.

UC Berkeley poet Carolyn Tipton reads today at Manzanita Arts Emporium in Angels Camp, 3pm, plus open mic from 5-6pm. Free, with wine and Spanish guitar by Robert Sandoval. And The Poets Club of Lincoln will hold their annual potluck meeting (bring your favorite dish) today from 3-5, featuring Taylor Graham, and open mic from 5-6pm at the Lincoln Public Library, 485 Twelve Bridges Drive in Lincoln. Free; all poets welcome to read up to 3 poems. Scroll down to the blue column (under the green column at the right) for info about these and other upcoming poetry events in our area—and note that more may be added at the last minute.

Remember, also, that the deadline for the Voices of Lincoln annual poetry contest is June 20. See
loft.org/resources/community-postings/2019-voices-lincoln-poetry-contest for info.

—Medusa, celebrating poetry!

 Joy Harjo

Photos in this column can be enlarged by
clicking on them once, then clicking on the x
in the top right corner to come back to Medusa.