
JUBILEE
They bound me without consent.
I moved with the weight of the world upon my shoulders,
each extremity shackled like a slave.
Hunched like a frail elderly man; I attempted to move about,
all the while under the suppression of guilt,
shame, and condemnation.
Shackled by wounds, I writhed in agony
as they brought me down to the pits of darkness, a land of creeping shadow.
It was there where I was blind to their desire to devour me.
Fallen prey to the animalistic appetite to consume every shred of hope—
Until I came into the light.
Under the shining of the light, I was appalled at their stronghold against me.
The illumination of their strength was all too unsettling.
I couldn’t bear the sight of them.
They surrounded me like a wild forest of Oaks, mocking my every step.
A multitude of tears sought urgent release, to spring forth,
evade the depth of my unconsciousness–but I could not allow them.
Yet there in the light was my salvation.
There in the light, their power over me would heal.
It was there I welcomed glorious liberty.
One like I’ve never experienced before.
The rays of jubilee were before me.
No wild forests to cast a shadow,
pits of darkness of oppression.
No shackles, bonds, or crushing burden.
Only life, light and liberty.

Inspired by two quotes and a poem by William Blake.
“Flowers are the music of the ground.
From Earth’s lips spoken without sound.”
-Edwin Curran
“Flowers grow out of dark moments.”
– Carita Kent
The line: “Arise from their graves and aspire” – Ah! Sun-flower by William Blake
THE SOUND OF MUSIC
Flowers grow out of dark moments.
They suffer in silence, agony of season,
the sure atrophy of splendid beauty.
When its glory is rendered inert;
Its pride sluggish, withers,
and returns to the dirt.
Flowers are the music of the ground.
Isolated, their irksome path begins unseen,
not green, but a timid auburn brown.
Arise from their graves and aspire!
They yield to the calling of the sun.
Blushing together as they sing, as a journey has begun.
Benjamin Thomas