What We Will - By Mara Lemanis
What We Will
You said it would be all right;
I said Look around you–
look and see what you won’t see,
listen to the lies, bans, howls;
slay the dragon, I said
sow the dragon’s teeth.
That is old work, you said–
Broken teeth, torn flesh.
Then what will be…?
You will see, you said.
And your voice folded into whisper
like a tea cosy coddling a secret brew,
spreading a radiant hush
like marigolds nodding
In a dawn-ripe rain—
We will find the peace that
passes understanding, you said,
and your voice flowed out
in a murmuring breeze
across fields, meadows, tundras
through cement-blocked cities, towns
through thick of forests, walls of water
Out to the ravening bile
of rough beasts
with mouths of men;
and your breath spun a silk road
around heads crammed
with curses, lies that
shake the earth, that
dredge ore from mineshafts,
veins rich with venom;
as your breath muffled howls in
tombs sealed with tulle,
as whispers massed
continents of cloud cover,
tongues of layered sound
dense as trumpets at Jericho
crumbling walls of dragon’s teeth,
mounting canyons of coral
to lay islands
floating free, unbanked
past mouths that tear flesh,
Past understanding how
a silk road, unwavering, unwinding
raised an army past shields,
unbrokered,
past understanding
what you said
We willed to be.
Mara Lemanis
Mara Lemanis
Biography: Mara Lemanis is a literary scholar. Her essays have been selected for 20th CENTURY LITERARY CRITICISM and are included in undergraduate student textbooks in the U.S.
She has worked as an archivist for Historical Preservation and with the IRC, assisting refugees in Oakland, California.
Disclaimer: The views, opinions and positions expressed within this guest article are those of the author Mara Lemanis alone and do not represent those of the Marbella Marbella website. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to Mara Lemanis and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with the author.
