to unite humanity?
What brings people together
in a world where some benefit
from keeping the masses
unsettled and separate?
Art, and its many splendid forms
Was the answer revealed
And one that has and will continue to be
A unifier, even if, on the art, not all agree
A model showing how diversity
Makes the human experience grander
Not another example of a grand divider
Art, just three letters
Nothing new and nothing revolutionary
Until it is
In need of inspiration
Something to transform
A heavy heart and the start of a heavy poem
Into one of a celebration
One of beauty and unity
One only need ponder
Another path where change agents
Hold items that uplift, not suppress
The architects of reform
Wield objects more powerful
Than those that evoke fear and show force
Those with the power to create inspired change
Hold brushes and pens; they dance and sing
Upon the artist’s divine gifts
The audience becomes transfixed
Drawing us in to their creations
Causing us to lose sight of our separateness
Replacing “they” and “them”
With togetherness and oneness
Did not at first appear
It took some writing and pondering
To end up there
The lines that led to beauty and unity
Began here~
A voice of one silenced by four
Pushed open slammed doors
From a history of avoidance
Causing millions to rush through
Showing up for equality, long deferred
Shouting George and demanding to be heard
Marching together in the streets
Posting alone through their feeds
Collectively, one voice that can no longer be ignored
Two weeks I have spent
Writing, crying, questioning
And trying to make sense
Of more senseless violence
Of more senseless deaths
Trying to make sense of senseless acts
Has led to a stalemate
Too long in sadness to dwell
But to some, who have spent their lifetime
Asking these difficult questions,
Now echoed across the globe,
A two-week foray, is hardly long enough
Writing has helped channel emotions
But has failed to deliver any answers
Or a greater understanding
Of our (world’s) messy affairs
History, set on repeat, becomes the present
A painful history that left me angry and disgusted
Whenever I set out to teach a story, a poem, or novel
Written during or set against the backdrop of
Oppression, slavery, segregation, or injustice
Subjects and stories not confined only to the U.S.
Unsettled affairs and unanswered questions
Causing millions to march in the streets
Answers needing more time to be revealed,
It seems
For conflicts to be resolved
And resolutions reached
Cynicism that this will ever be achieved
Replaced with hope as I begin to read
Of changes occurring across cities
Deep pondering,
Uncomfortable and somber
But within the heaviness and sadness
This path led me to the one question
That became the start of this poem
Hopefully rearranged
To highlight glimmers of change
Instead of more of the same
“An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose.”
Langston Hughes
Thank you for visiting and reading my poem about a subject, with endless forms, that unites people. Whether it is coming together to listen to a band (remember when), or walking quietly through a gallery, or pausing to look at street art, or watching actors or dancers perform, or reading a novel or poem, and so many more, artistic endeavors that bring us together. Thank you artists! 💗 Wishing you a weekend (and lifetime) full of beauty and unity, and art. 😊 Michele
Being a Woman Poetry Collection Poetry Chapbook available through Amazon (my poems and my daughter’s illustrations).
A stroll through my phone revealed many images highlighting how art, artists, and artistic endeavors have enriched my life over the last year (and of course, much longer). Four of the images are not from my phone, but added by request of artists I know and have watched, many times, perform (second collage: bass player, ballerina, painter, and textile art piece). Although I always include the location of my photos, there are too many to list here, but I do want to acknowledge two pieces from the Phoenix Art Museum and a Phoenix based artist: 1. First collage (bottom left): Joseph Stella (1877–1946), Flowers, Italy (1931), oil on canvas, 190.5 x 190.5 cm, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ. 2. Viola Frey (1933 – 2004), Nude Man, America (1989), glazed ceramic, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ. 3. First collage: Anthony Farias, known as “Eli” https://elitheartist.com/ (top, fuschia shirt).
If you have questions about any of the photos, please ask in the comments, and I would be happy to provide more detail. Thank you!
Copyright © 2020 Michele Lee Sefton. All Rights Reserved.
My Inspired Life 
May I post this on West Valley Arts Council FB page? We’ll tag your blog (or another link if you like).
Sent from my iPhone
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Yes, I would be honored. They do great work. Thank you for sharing and tagging my blog. 😊
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we’ll be happy to post your poem, pictures excluded, to our website with your permission.
Sandra Bassett
President & CEO
West Valley Arts Council
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Sandra, thank you. I am happy to contribute. Let me know if you need it sent to you in a different format. Thank you and your team for your dedication and commitment to the arts. If you are ever in need of another poem with art as the focus-I published one in February, titled, “She Weaves Color with Stardust.” It can be accessed by clicking on February under “Previous Posts.” Thanks again. Michele
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This is perhaps my favorite of all the poems you’ve sent to us. You’ve touched on a powerful, unifying element in society. One must just look around at all the elements of expression that have been employed since the beginning of time to express emotions, beauty and unrest—to ask the consumer to LOOK and LISTEN to what is being expressed. Some are angry and demand change while others require more study and introspection. I believe that art, while both a unifier and a devider, causes discussion and that speaking and LISTENING, really listening, is what will ultimately bring humanity together, for art IS humanity at its most honest.
Vicki
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Vicki, thank you. Your comments are thoughtfully and beautifully expressed. 😊
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