Sunday Sundries

Things that are blue.

From the book, I chose “Write a poem about A Voice.” The word associations the book provides are murmur, whisper, holler, soft, husky, sultry, conscience, instinct. Because I’d chosen blue, because of the musician I write and so many of my characters, because of how I think, I had only one direction to take. Here’s what I wrote:

a voice

it starts with a whisper
of chains and of whips
backbreaking labor
heartbreaking goodbye
it grows to a murmur
soft change, husky hope
sultry with promise
resolve to survive
makes it a holler
the:
buddys and muddys
bessies, ettas, and kokos
blind boys and sonny boys
mas and sisters
ones with initials
ones with three names
ones with last names
they never asked for or wanted
holler holler holler
to prod the conscience
of all who will listen
to all who will hear
a voice
the voices

December 29, 2024
©Becky Cochrane