Poems of Persistence, Solidarity, and Refuge – Aaron R

We are each other's harvest; we are each other's business; we are each other's magnitude and bond.  ― Gwendolyn Brooks  

As we journey through political, economic, and global health crises, we turn to poetry to share truths that unearth underlying causes, illuminate impacts, and insist on transformative change. For many of us, today’s challenges are not new. The struggle of isolation, economic insecurity, inadequate medical care, deadly institutionalized negligence, governmental decisions that put Black, Brown, Indigenous, Asian, disabled, sick, and other structurally precarious people at greater risk are not new. Today, many more people are experiencing the vulnerability of these unrelenting issues. We recognize this opportunity for a heightened awareness of how our very survival depends on one another.

Poetry can help keep the flame of resilience, solidarity, and resistance alive in us. It can help us process and move through grief, anger, loneliness. Poetry can be a comfort when the most necessary actions are to rest and recover. It can remind us of what’s at stake, that our lives and legacy are worth the fight. As cultural workers, we know that culture shapes our political and social imagination at a foundational level. As poets, we can use poetry to map what is, what has been, and possibly, the way forward, including the reasons not to return to what does not honor and protect our lives, our communities, and our planet.

We asked poets to give us the words they chant to get out of bed, to raise their fists, to encourage their kin, to remind us, as this crisis does, that “we are each other’s business; we are each other’s magnitude and bond.” To read all of these poems, visit Split This Rock’s website.

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Silver Lining
By Aaron R

President initially thought it was a joke

Corporations struggling and going broke

Churches starting to lose hope

Conspiracy theorists saying “stay woke”

Call corona an epidemic

Call COVID19 a pandemic

Everyone can relate because the whole world is dealing with it

Just because we are supposed to distance ourselves socially

That doesn’t mean that we can’t speak

Schools are closed but that doesn’t mean we can’t teach

Churches are closed but that doesn’t mean we can’t preach

Nobody said it would be easy, but this is the feat

And if we somehow come together, we will never, see defeat

I know, it’s easier said than done but if we alter our minds

The best lessons in life are learned after some of the toughest and roughest times

And after the darkest times is when the sun starts shining

Keep on grinding, keep on trying

I know it’s hard when people are dining

But eventually, we’ll find the silver lining

Split This Rock · Aaron R Silver Lining Audio

Listen as Aaron R reads "Silver Lining."