As we mentioned yesterday, the Museum of Modern Art has joined in the voices against the Trumpet nonsense. With each plaque accompanying the art you read

“This work is by an artist from a nation whose citizens are being denied entry into the United States, according to a presidential executive order issued on January 27, 2017. This is one of several such artworks from the Museum’s collection installed throughout the fifth-floor galleries to affirm the ideals of welcome and freedom as vital to this Museum, as they are to the United States.”

Today’s poetic response is to [Composition-40-2011] by Shirana Shahbazi, a German artist born in Iran in 1974. It is a chromogenic color print from 2011.

Standing on a Ridge on Callisto,
Gazing toward the Sun

“Of course, it’s easy to see
the Red Planet, Mars,
God of War, guardian of agriculture--
and next to him the terrible Deimos,
as if war needed an escalation,
and just beyond is Luna,
that bright white moon doing
all it can to hide the blue dot behind.”
 

        And what is that, exactly?


Nothing worth the trouble--
separated by puddles
they still fight over myths &
borders & trinkets &
colors.
So wrapped up in themselves
we are able to remain here,
unknown
unbothered
uninvaded  
and the sun a kilomètre zéro, blazing bright center,
lighting our way to more,
            far beyond the blue, wet contentious stone. 

© David Siller – Photo and Poem – 2017

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For the first 100 days of the Trumpet administration, this blog will feature a new poem of protest, by my own hand and by others. They will be polished gems, or rough cut drafts of rage, or in process pieces searching for peace. They may be haiku or tanka, limericks or lyrics, verses free or fettered. If you would like to submit to this endeavor, please send an email, with poem saved as a word document (.docx) to waxyandpoetic AT gmail DOT com. All rights remain with the author. VISUAL ARTISTS ! Do you have something visually poetic that you’d like to submit? GO FOR IT!

Please address any formatting preferences in your email. I will post submissions time permitting, with at least one per day. Editing will be limited to obvious errors of spelling and the like.

Read, follow, share, re-tweet, submit, live, love, spread light! Don’t forget to use #100Days100Poems !

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