Friday, July 1, 2011

With you, always


I see the poor, I know them,
those people on welfare
spending their food stamps
at the supermarket, living
in those red row houses,
brick-baked in summer,
space-heatered in winter,
in that very specific and
avoid-after-dark part
of town. I tithe, give my time,
serve at Thanksgiving (more
dressing, sir?), clean up,
weed yards, plant gardens,
rehab houses with Jimmy
and never once do I
look in the mirror,
except to smile.


Photograph: Row houses, N. 13th Street in Old North St. Louis, 2005, by Preservation Research Office.
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7 comments:

  1. MaureenJuly 1, 2011 at 8:08 AM

    Your seeing brings you to living out the good works you list here... and acknowledging that "there but for the grace of God go I".

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  2. katdishJuly 1, 2011 at 8:40 AM

    Wow. That last line really packs a punch. Great, Glynn. Just great.

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  3. H. GillhamJuly 1, 2011 at 8:52 AM

    My parents lived in a row house in St. Louis in the late 1940s, early 1950s. I think it was on Washington Court.

    I've been looking at old photographs, and this reminded me of some of those I saw -- except the had cheap cameras and the images were blurry and in black and white.

    I like how photographs inspire writers to write poetry.

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  4. Megan WillomeJuly 1, 2011 at 8:53 AM

    My cousin went on a 3-month NOLES trip, and she said the best part of it was not having access to a mirror.

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  5. ayalaJuly 1, 2011 at 3:11 PM

    This is great. I love it !

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  6. AnonymousJuly 1, 2011 at 9:40 PM

    i don't quite understand this poem....not sure what you are saying.

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  7. PatriciaJuly 1, 2011 at 11:32 PM

    you made me go right to James 1:23-24...
    You captured this beautifully, Glynn. I hope I never forget who I was and who I could have been if not for the grace of God.
    May you be blessed in what you do (v.25)as you look intently and abide.

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