Poem for Barack H. Obama from Derek Walcott

Derek Walcott

Out of the turmoil emerges one emblem, an engraving —

a young Negro at dawn in straw hat and overalls,

an emblem of impossible prophecy, a crowd

dividing like the furrow which a mule has ploughed,

parting for their president: a field of snow-flecked

cotton

forty acres wide, of crows with predictable omens

that the young ploughman ignores for his unforgotten

cotton-haired ancestors, while lined on one branch, is

a tense

court of bespectacled owls and, on the field's

receding rim —

a gesticulating scarecrow stamping with rage at him.

The small plough continues on this lined page

beyond the moaning ground, the lynching tree, the tornado's

black vengeance,

and the young ploughman feels the change in his veins,

heart, muscles, tendons,

till the land lies open like a flag as dawn's sure

light streaks the field and furrows wait for the sower.

Inaugural Poet Elizabeth Alexander's Poem, "Praise Song for the Day"

Praise song for the day.


Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching
each others' eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is
noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of
our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a
hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of
repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons
on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.

A farmer considers the changing sky. A teacher says, "Take out your
pencils. Begin."

We encounter each other in words, words spiny or smooth, whispered or
declaimed; words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and
then others who said, "I need to see what's on the other side; I know
there's something better down the road."

We need to find a place where we are safe; we walk into that which we
cannot yet see.

Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the
dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the
bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the
glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for
every hand-lettered sign, the figuring it out at kitchen tables.

Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thy self." Others by "First do no
harm," or "Take no more than you need."

What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial,
national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need
to preempt grievance.

In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any
sentence begun.

On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking
forward in that light.

Poetic Inspiration: Rosa Parks Poetry of Hope

Rosa parks sat

So Martin Luther King

Could stand and walk

Martin Luther King Walked

So Obama could run

Obama ran so we can call hope and fly

And Obama hopes so he can reshape America's international image

So we all can work together to rebuild our economy, neighborhoods and schools

So we can live together in harmony despite all our problems

An Inaugural Poem for Barack Obama

Tears of Joy
(jc)

The huge lump is gone from their heart

From East to West Coast and from North to South,

The burden is lifted for ever

The vestiges of the past are slowly forgotten

The yokes of past slavery are broken once for all

It is a general catharsis

The Day after general elections results,

Americans become prouder of the reshaping of their image

In the world.

No longer are their pursued by the ghosts of the civil rights struggle,

Of Little Rock, Birmingham and Greensboro



Why have Americans cried?

Oprah Winfrey cried her eyelashes off; Her make up became a moist mess

Michelle Obama was in disbelief. She briefly cried and embraced her daughters

Jesse Jackson as well as Colin Powell, Whites as well as Blacks cried

On this new day. The Day of change has finally come to America

Americans and the rest of the world rejoiced over the victory speech

And cried over the past inequities, injustices, slavery, Jim Crow, discrimination and prejudices

Dr. King's Dream has finally come to pass!

We, Americans, cried over the surging memories of Dr. King's March on Washington,

Mississippi's Freedom Summer, Detroit's riots, and Selma's Bloody Sunday


Americans cried over the numerous separate but equal signs in the South and elsewhere

We cried over the separate buses, restaurants, Hotels, second-class status, and water fountains

We cried over all the sittings and the dogs that bit and tore our flesh

Under the cops' beatings and the hurricanes of high-volume water hoses that blinded us

We cried over the institutional racism, the enforced laws that regulated our systems and societies

We cried over all the written and unwritten rules of the Ol' South that snuffed Emmet Till's breath

We cried over Jim Crow, the KKK's unrelentless raids, attacks and fire setting on innocent homeowners

We cried over the courage of a few brave men who stood up only to be wiped out by strong interests

The slavery system and subsequent Jim Crow were all about exploiting the weak for monetary purposes

We cried over the numbing fears that crippled us and made us believe that we could do anything

To change our fate. "Yes, we can now. Yes, we can," Chanted the huge crowd at Grant Park, Chicago


"Less than 40 years after an African American was not allowed to use the same bathroom as a white person,

Sleep in the same hotel, ride on the same bus, go to the same school

Less than 40 years later, our nation showed the entire world why it is the greatest nation on earth

And selected an African American as its 44th President," wrote the blogger

We cried because as a society we finally decided to take the country in a new direction


We are suddenly filled with a new source of optimism

And feel ready to rebuild and tackle our pressing problems

New strengths are needed in the face of two wars, a sinking economy,

A warming planet, a troubled healthcare system, energy needs, foreign policy issues,

Financial and housing crisis, and credit crunch

Suddenly, American's day of celebration and euphoria gave way to reflections

Dr. Martin Luther King would be rejoicing over this new day

Nelson Mandela congratulates Obama and the American people

"your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream

Of wanting to change the world for a better place."

Indeed, hope has won over racial prejudices in this history-making presidential campaign

The rest of the world has just witnessed the determination and power of this great country

Yes, we have overcome! Yes, we have overcome!

We have reined in the dark forces and have overcome our prejudices and conquered our own fears

The last glass ceiling has just been shattered once for all in the U.S.A.

Indeed, the Blacks of St. Domingue were right for fighting for freedom and political independence in 1804

"Freedom and progress know no boundary."

The biggest assets of the U.S.A. are her children

Blacks as well as Whites, Hispanic as well as Asian or any other ethnic group

No child should be left behind.

We cried over how far we have come. This is a collective sign of relief.


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A Song for Change

A Song for Change
(jc)

Complete Euphoria all over the world!

I am in tears and so are my friends and the rest of the country

Cries of joy indeed!

The tough among us have been softened by a new set of realities

The World rejoices and cries over the first Black President of the United States

It is not a victory about one man, it is a victory for the people and the world

It is a victory brought by hope and change

A catharsis, a great symbolism that has washed away the sins of our founders

JFK's prophecies have come to pass: In 40 years or so, an African-American will be

President of the United States of America. Hard to Swallow but true

Anything is possible in the United States, indeed! Hope is reborn

The promise of this country remains intact: Through hard work, discipline and organization

One can achieve most of his/her dreams

What a collective moment for us, Americans, and the world!

More than the Superbowl, more than the Olympics, more than the Pope,

And more than any war or other calamity could have done, a victory by Obama

Created a transformative moment for us all


The world symphony takes center stage: A new maestro is about to enter

The Inhabitants of our planet are eager to witness the new direction we take

Sonnet for the Audacity of Hope

Sonnet for the Aftermath of Change

Symphony for the collaborative effort and renewal of spirits

The past appears to be buried with this landslide victory. The stings of racism, Jim Crow, Discrimination

And other social, political inequities must take back seat to the hope and promises,

And possibilities offered by this great country of ours

``A hundred years ago, he would have been a slave. A hundred years on, he is the president. That's massive,''

``A new broom sweeps clean. The new president may introduce concrete measures to fix the financial crisis. Once things improve in the U.S., the world improves and China improves.''

"Obama's victory marks ``a historic change which shows that the United States is an entirely exceptional power, completing a fundamental social revolution in the space of two, three generations.''

``A new face offers Europe a new chance to remarry America.''


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