PALMETTO POEM: Music of doves ascending

EDITOR’S NOTE: The author composed this poem, a pantoum, for the Unity concert in August following the June massacre of nine people at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

By Marjory Wentworth, poet laureate of South Carolina

Yellow crime tape tied to the rod iron fence
weaves through bouquets of flowers
and wreaths made of white ribbons,
like rivers of bright pain flowing through the hours.

Weaving through bouquets of flowers,
lines of strangers bearing offerings
like rivers of bright pain flowing through the hours.
One week later; the funeral bells ring;

lines of strangers still bring offerings.
Nine doves tossed toward the sun.
One week later; the funeral bells ring,
while churches in small towns are burning.

Nine doves tossed toward the sun.
Because there are no words to sing,
while churches in small towns are burning,
a blur of white wings, ascends like music

Marjory Wentworth, a Mount Pleasant writer whose poems have appeared in numerous books, is poet laureate of South Carolina. You can find more of her work at: http://www.marjorywentworth.net/