~ Delta Poetry Review ~

Olivia Ellis

Poem written after reading Bill Broder’s

“Orpheus on Mt. Tam.”

…dominion and duke,

duel demons dancing

in the underworld

demanding the death

of every woodland wildflower,

every rivulet of sustaining

water, rivers and streams

all gone sour from the

indelible signatures of the

boardroom zombies

and their duly elected

dancing partners

as if we could live without seeing them,

our eyes dug out,

the holes packed in

with pressurized putrid gas

sealed shut from the underworld.

February 12, 1809

You must have known, even when you were young,

What the task was, and what it would mean

To set the people free yet hold them together as one.

You must have looked ahead and seen it written,

The simple words that needed to be said.

It didn’t matter that the odds were zero to none.

Someone had to come forward at that moment

And make the words flesh, the spirit bone.

And had to watch the long bloodbath—Bull Run,

Antietam, Shiloh—and not allow the grief

To choke resolve, or darken you with fear.

God knows the darkness wanted you undone.

Something in me would celebrate this day

Saying, “Eat this bread; drink this wine,

Gird yourself. The war is not yet won.”

February 12, 2023

An Uncivil War

You look around at actors on the stage,

Arms akimbo, faces in a rage.

Venom numbs the ending of this age.

Where’s the curtain? When’s the curtain call?

Whoever’s backstage, let the curtain fall!

We’re ready for the postscript to the writing on the wall.

Olivia Ellis worked as a Resource Specialist for the Claremont Schools utilizing a Publishing House that took stories from immigrant families about their travails into this country, and those children who were young enough to qualify for entry into the Los Angeles County Schools found their stories winning first place in all categories. Those books became their basal readers, and their test scores showed phenomenal jumps in reading. It was their stepping stone into instant success into grade-level reading in English. Email: osellis7@gmail.com