Poem by Deta Galloway

Thank You
August 26, 2014

Thank You. Thank You.
It is so good to stand here before you
It is so good to speak to you of love
thank you thank you
for allowing me to remind you
that I am of you
that I too sing
of a great and mighty America
of a soon coming time
related in ways of our humankind
related in blood of our clan and kin
thank you.
thank you
that you believe in me
yesterday, yesterday
one of us
a child
has been slain
today, today
we laid him in his tomb
today, today
we have taken this child from the womb
today, today
he will rest
among the best
and on the great and Judgment day
God shall call him by his name
and this child shall be known
as our son beside the throne
Oh Michael
Oh Michael
Oh ark angel sing
oh Michael
Oh Michael
tell us of the deep
and the clear waters
of your soul
Oh little son
of God’s creation
your soul is winged
over Jordan
Oh Michael
Oh Michael
sing! sing!
I cry for you
I cry for you
Oh Michael, wont’ you sing
we offer you our prayers
we offer your our supplication
we laud your brief and important life
we have uplifted you from the strife
as you have come in peace
as you have come in love
Oh now, in this gracious devotion
You bid us quietly an understanding
that your living shall not be in vain
that your God is our God
and you shall be with us
that your God is our God
and you shall free us
Oh God be with Michael
Oh God be with Us
We love you Michael
has first loved us
Oh Michael, your are transformative
Oh Michael, you are instrumental
to our lives
to the ways we strive
Oh Child o’God,
lead us not to seek our own understanding
lead us to a prayerful healing
lead us into the beautiful mystery of your living
lead us into forgiving
Oh son, help us
Oh son, let our sorrows turn to rejoicing
free our heavy hearts from pain
free us from the helplessness, the shame
Oh son, help us
and let our weeping become the cleansing fountain
and let us climb this hopeful mountain
of your wonder
of your togetherness
of your worth
and rebuke the chains of fears that binds us
and rebuke the albatross of wrath within us
and heal us of the common affliction
Of America’s plight, Her condition
Oh son of innocence and God humility
this is the righteousness, your simplicity
your humanity
Oh Oracle of the mystic rise of God in Us
Oh magical, and young life rising
that you have taken the wings of the morning
That you fly away
Hallelujah, one day
until the setting sun
a mother weeps for her son
into the quiet shadows of the night
we weep with her, until daylight
gently now we hold you
gently now we touch your mortal wounds
and God washes you, once again in his ransomed blood
your daddy stand, never faltering in the flood
For Jesus keeps a watching over Us
In the open dreams of a father for his son
In the open pathways in an America where we begun
to fall, even stumble inside a fusillade of the gun
Yet still it is Thy Kingdom Shall Come
God is watching this battlefield, though She is over-run
For until the Victory is won
A chorus of the righteous shall be still heard
Like a throng of angels the people
still sing songs of worship, still sing songs of Love
We shall overcome
Hallelujah, the fields of Ferguson be quieted
For our God has come
In his words so plain
again, Nothing but the righteous
shall see God.
In his words so plain
Let not your heart be troubled
Believe also in God
Believe also in me
Come sisters and brothers, gather round
bring bread, your sweet ways
your humbleness and sorrow
come as you are
be you white
be you black, other and red
just come gather round
until this season of sadness be gone
Until freedom calms the streets of our hearts
Until redemption from this wilderness
gathers our scattered parts
come gather round
with arms outstretched
into the dark hours of our bereft
Come gather round
and stand vigil
until the dawn
Until the rising Sun
Amen
Amen

Artwork © Ira Joel Haber

Postcript

From the Poet: Salome Deta Pitts. Come you all, and be with me. Help me weep for our son. Come one and all, and strengthen our one another, until this sorrow turns to strength. Until the clear river shall flow.Peace. Written for an apology to Michael, and his family, and to all of us, who one by one, knows the sorrow that we feel, whenever we are in sorrow. I too weep, yet sing of a better tomorrow, of a kinder, and better America. I weep also for the guilty, for anyone who lives maliciously. Let us love. Let there be peace and harmony among all of us. Let us all guide and protect each other, and the children. Written on the day of the funeral of Michael Brown. I drummed up the courage, and use the tool that I have, to write a poem, of prayerfulness. I sat in the local park, feeling so alone, and then I wept. Until my heart was free and unburdened from her sorrow and her sadness, and was now filled with the vision and the power of forgiveness, I chose the courage to speak. So here it is. Thanks to all.

Deta Galloway is a self-described “Multimedia Artist, whose other pursuits include, painting, music, storytelling, professional dance, photography and ceramics. She was originally born in the Jamaica West Indies who emigrated to the United States at the age of 18. A professional nurse, she currently divides her time between Massachusetts and Georgia.

Ira Joel Haber was born and lives in Brooklyn. He is a sculptor, painter, book dealer, photographer and teacher. His work has been seen in numerous group shows both in USA and Europe and he has had 9 one man shows including several retrospectives of his sculpture. His work is in the collections of The Whitney Museum Of American Art, New York University, The Guggenheim Museum, The Hirshhorn Museum and The Albright-Knox Art Gallery. Since 2007 His paintings, drawings, photographs and collages have been published in over 160 on line and print magazines. He has received three National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, two Pollock-Krasner grants, the Adolph Gottlieb Foundation grant and, in 2010, he received a grant from Artists’ Fellowship Inc. He currently teaches art to retired public school teachers at The United Federation of Teachers program in Brooklyn.