Category: Visual Art

Beyond words and photos

Obrigada

Red bell pepper, light, warm colors, photo
Photo & poem by Elizabeth

OBRIGADA

What if the first word we learned

in another language

was not toilet, how much,

or even where, but instead

thank you;

would we see past lines of experience,

the stumbling of innocence,

broken teeth, exquisite eyes,

to each person’s essence,

the miracle of existence,

and be grateful for a form

that could say gracias, dhanyavaad,

tak, xìe xìe, spasibo, danke, shokran?

Thank you to the editors of Marin Poetry Center Anthology VI for first publishing “Obrigada.”

MPC

Living on the Streets

graffiti, life, mural, photo, street art
Poem & photos by Elizabeth
LIVING ON THE STREETS

I never chose to be here
Amid concrete and cheap booze—
I’d sooner die but bodies carry on for years.

I hear the wailing ricochet of children
Held within this hell of rolling veins.
No, they never, never chose to be here.

Limbs stiffened from cold sidewalks trap me 
As pustules grow and lice feed on my skin—
I’d sooner die but bodies carry on for years.

Violence is not televised on streets; instead, it jeers at battered
Skulls and broken bones—we’re easy prey for kids.
No, I never chose to be here.

Whiskey holds back cold and memories that leer of oboe played
Amidst the smoke, thighs wrapping mine through dawn.	
Now, I’d sooner die but bodies carry on for years.

With deafened ears and eyes averted, you comment on 
My stench as you dart into the restaurant;
I never chose to be here—
I’d sooner die but bodies carry on for years.

Hunger, Mural, graffiti, photo

Thank you to the editors of Mediphors: A Literary Journal of the Health Professions for first publishing this poem.

Disconnected

sculpture, male, nude, garden, black and white photo
photo by Elizabeth

Oxfam‘s January 14, 2024 report, Inequality Inc., explores the disparity between the uber-wealthy and the rest of society.

Since 2020, five billion people have become poorer, while the world’s five richest men have more than doubled their fortunes—at a rate of $14 million per hour.

VOTE

flag, democracy, photo, vote, election
photo by Elizabeth

This election is not about Harris, Trump or an individual issue. It’s about what the United States of America represents, for us and the world; how it provides for its citizens and the environment; how we care not only for the living and those who have sacrificed for this country, but also for those who will follow, which one could interpret in line with the Native American-Iroquois law: “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.”

This election is not about the next four years or a party; but instead, whether we choose that “all…are created equal…with certain unalienable rights…life, liberty and… happiness,” not merely as pursuit, but experienced (as described in this Emory U. article), or if we want something different for our nation.

Each vote matters, which is why so many have literally sacrificed or died to protect this right for every eligible citizen.