By Ishmael von Heidrick-Barnes

RISING UP

Women
kiss icons in the church of Saint Lazarus
place devote hands
over a reliquary
containing the saint’s bones

Beneath the altar –
a crypt with an empty sarcophagus

My eyes christen the marble with tears
for a distant country
in need of resuscitation

Ancestors appear
in the darkness:

Men
who fought beside Washington-
who taught Lincoln
when the president was a boy–
who were wounded fighting brothers during the Civil War–
who were forced on death marches
onto Indian reservations–
who lie in unmarked graves
along the Oregon Trail and in North Africa

I light a candle for America
run my fingers over my daughter’s photograph:

The embodiment of empathy love equality and peace

I am not a religious man
but I leave the church of Saint Lazarus
knowing the dead can rise up

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Ishmael von Heidrick-Barnes

Ishmael von Heidrick-Barnes was born and raised in San Diego, California. He attended Herbert Hoover High School and went on to study Religion and Theology at the University of San Diego. His book Intimate Geography, published by Ragged Sky Press, won the 2012 San Diego Book Award for Poetry. Ish, as he is known, has also written lyrics for German musicians Andrea Hörkens and Thomas Roderburg (Tender Art).

Latest posts by Ishmael von Heidrick-Barnes (see all)

• Word’s Out | Geo-Poetic Spaces - December 14, 2018
• Political Love Affair | Geo-Poetic Spaces - December 7, 2018
• Deer Tracks | Geo-Poetic Spaces - November 30, 2018