An Ekphrastic Poem on "Fishers of Men," From the Art Series "I AM"
each waterspout wave tosses tongues of many tribes
upon its seasons seas
of present peoples
unable to swim to shallowed shores,
where shoaling fish wing their way in soulful search of stillness—
finned fauna must adhere while swimming
to their appointed premises of time
of territory marked out and maintained
to each a source
to each a span
to each a season
withstanding compression as fish do deeply
free from depths of water’s pulsing pressure
so must each holy man
—each free man
—must maintain his freedom
keeping his most sacred possession—
intact, pure, and insured for his sons, grandsons, great grandsons
a legacy of love
of life in view
of literacy in truth
to retain familial unity, permanence, togetherness
just as familiar finned fish swimmingly swirl in sync—
a school of knowledge
when passed one to the next
like bread at dawn
when fins surface break, flip and dance
flashing across gentle word-swept waves,
each holy man, each free man
must give
to innocence’s inclined ears
—a little here, a little there
each refraining referencing since the beginning
“I AM”
unity forever
will maintain