Finally. I have recovered from Inauguration Madness and I’m back. I won’t talk much about my Inaugural Experience…only to say that it was fabulous being amidst the mayhem and chaos. Thanks to a giving light (Kim!), I scoped a “Golden Ticket” to watch the Inauguration on the Capitol Grounds (narrowly avoiding the Purple Tunnel of Doom…THANK YOU MOTHER NATURE).
Once I made it…actually just as the ceremony was starting and directly after the musical interlude….. I settled into a spot after awhile and stood in frigid weather to see (mostly hear) the President Obama take his Oath of Office. And of course I was anxiously awaiting the Inaugural Poem read and composed by Elizabeth Alexander. (Actually, I thought that perhaps, I’d missed it because it took me soo long to get to and go through the security check points. You might remember my earlier post on Dr. Alexander.
Unfortunately, I was in the minority and once the Oath of Office was done the crowd of thousands started to slowly shift to the exit…..trailing behind them was noise and picture snapping. Needless to say it was impossible for me to follow Dr. Alexander’s presentation (or Rev. Lowery’s benediction for that matter) and almost wouldn’t have known it was over if it were not for a few sporadic hand-claps waving through the audience.
Although, there has been much criticism of Dr. Alexander’s Inaugural Poem…….. I think the text is beautiful and wise. Wise for her to stay herself and share with us words that evoke History (the ancestors are beaming and stomping Thank You’s), Voice, Movement, Love, Light….and importantly the reminder that we hold the power to Create and Inspire tomorrow’s praise. I found the language to be simple yet stimulating; creating (and evoking) lasting, lingering images of people….people loving and moving towards peace…people we all know, have known, or will know at some point in time. How brilliant of Dr. Alexander to allow us along on this journey….
Praise Song for the Day by Elizabeth Alexander
A Poem for Barack Obama's Presidential Inauguration Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each other's eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair. Someone is trying to make music somewhere, with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum, with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice. A woman and her son wait for the bus. A farmer considers the changing sky. A teacher says, Take out your pencils. Begin. We encounter each other in words, words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed, words to consider, reconsider. We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of some one and then others, who said I need to see what's on the other side. I know there's something better down the road. We need to find a place where we are safe. We walk into that which we cannot yet see. Say it plain: that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of. Praise song for struggle, praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign, the figuring-it-out at kitchen tables. Some live by love thy neighbor as thyself, others by first do no harm or take no more than you need. What if the mightiest word is love? Love beyond marital, filial, national, love that casts a widening pool of light, love with no need to pre-empt grievance. In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, any thing can be made, any sentence begun. On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp, praise song for walking forward in that light.
