Friday, January 16, 2015

In a Mother's Voice (Amber Smithers and Joan McNerney)




Today I'd like to focus on poems in a mother's voice.  These are for the Michael Brown contest.  The first poem is by my former student, Amber Smithers, a young woman who may become a filmmaker.  (She has so many interests, and I'm glad that she decided to participate in this contest!)

A Lullaby to My Son

Hush little baby,
Don't you cry.
Mommy's not gonna let you die.
Don't let those demons
Take your light. 
I'm sorry I wasn't there that night.
But now mommy's gonna win this fight.
Mommy's gonna love you through the night.
Hush little baby,
Don't you cry.
Mommy's gonna make sure you survive. 

-- Amber Smithers

I am not sure that Joan McNerney's poem is also a mother's voice, but it speaks to the pain that a mother faces when she loses a son to violence.  As women who are not mothers, neither Joan nor I can imagine what it is like to lose a child in this way.

For the Mothers

Don’t

Don’t think
              think about it
              that he is dead
                    you won’t see him again
                    you are alone but
                    you still look for him
                    the call came
                    his young body gone
                    all the love in the world won’t bring him home
                    you still look for him
                    you are alone but
                    you won’t see him again
              that he is dead
              think about it
Don’t think

Don’t

-- Joan McNerney

Below is a picture of Emmett Till with his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, who outlived her only child by forty-eight years.


I'll finish with some more music for you.

Here is a link to a performance of Dan Furman's "For Emmett Till":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOXqx0CGYss

I also wanted to add Bob Dylan's "The Death of Emmett Till" although I'm not sure how long the video will be up.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVKTx9YlKls


Here Nina Simone sings "Revolution" and "Strange Fruit," adding her commentary on the role of the artist in society.  Note that this video includes graphic images of victims of lynching.

Gregory Porter's "Mother's Song" is more hopeful and soothing but I wanted to end on a different note:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvsFVg_Cc2o

1 comment:

  1. very capturing poems.. as a mother i cannot imagine the trauma .
    God bless
    ritamarie recine

    ReplyDelete