a literary journal published by the Black Earth Institute dedicated to re-forging the links between art and spirit, earth and society
Along the river
Filling with tides,
We will bend down
To plant rice in mud
That was here before
We came. Water
Touching roots, growing
Beyond memory.
We will pass
Neglected
Graves
Of the enslaved.
The earth holds
Their names
The way it holds rain.
We will dig through
Centuries until
We find them,
Bent to the earth
Bent to the water
We will plant rice
Beyond the numbers
Beyond the names.
Marjory Wentworth is the New York Times bestselling author of Out of Wonder, Poems Celebrating Poets (with Kwame Alexander and Chris Colderley). She is the co-writer of We Are Charleston, Tragedy and Triumph at Mother Emanuel, Taking a Stand, and The Evolution of Human Rights. She is co-editor with Kwame Dawes of Seeking, Poetry and Prose inspired by the Art of Jonathan Green, and the author of the prizewinning children’s story Shackles. Her books of poetry include Noticing Eden, Despite Gravity, The Endless Repetition of an Ordinary Miracle and New and Selected Poems. Her poems have been nominated for The Pushcart Prize six times. She is the current poet laureate of South Carolina. Wentworth is a Senior Fellow at the Global Social Justice Practice Academy at Ohio University. She teaches courses in writing, social justice, and banned books at The College of Charleston.
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