Poet Elizabeth Alexander's Poem Praise Song for the Day, read by the poet on the inauguration of President Barack Obama. (an unofficial transcription I made)
Each day we go about our business
walking past each other
catching each other’s 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, boombox, 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 thyself”
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!
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Here is a podcast of Ms. Alexander's reading earlier today
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