by Regina YC Garcia
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| Bracha Lavee Art Studio |
All land is holy/land was holy
until it is not/until it was not
until it is not/until it was not
Land that has been
planted/has been penned
by hearts beating contrite/or
hearts lying unrepentant
with feet that have walked/ or
feet that have occupied
and minds with thoughts of peace/ or
minds with thoughts of plot
The land-now restructured
The laws-now revised
The people-once free/the people-now contained
live inflamed/ live in flames
We wonder of war
We wail of death
All of it waged by hands
some clean/ some unclean
The terrain, at least large enough,
seems to be not enough and
struggles to be/desires to be reframed/ to be reclaimed
by new ghosts/by ghosts of old.
Regina YC Garcia is a DAR American Heritage Literary Award Winner and a Pushcart Nominated Poet, Language Artist, and English Professor from Greenville, NC. She has been published in South Florida Poetry Journal, Amistad, Black Joy Unbond, and numerous others. She has also contributed to a variety of podcasts, documentaries, and musical and literary arrangements including the Sacred 9 Project (Tulane University) and an Emmy award winning episode of the PBS art show Muse. Her debut chapbook The Firetalker's Daughter was released in March 2023 by Finishing Line Press.