The Sword in Stone is My Tongue

(To blue and yellow)

McClain Homann

Why must we stand so idle?

For we, as a nation, have been

A canvas; displayed an image

For the world

Of vulnerable—valuable

Democracy painted, pressing

Beating watercolor hearts.

Our hearts, these fragile hearts—

Remind us that

In this time, it is not about politics—

The issue is humility.

Humans now losing dreams—

Children are no longer doctors,

No longer lawyers, but growing up

To be ghosts, whispering the sound of wind.

Faint wisps of dreams that ceased to be.

Their fathers have fallen and their mothers,

Now spiraling bullet casing blood droplets

Of tears—now fighting,

Now loading bugles,

Hoping to blow the right key.

A rapid fire in crowds

For the world to hear and

Watch everyone move.

We hear you.

We hear you—

And as a nation, it is our

Responsibility—a human responsibility,

To rip out our tongues

Like sword in stone from our

Mouths and sharpen them on priceless

Diamond ideology,

The gallery painted with fire,

Ambition, passion, and love—

For freedom.

For Democracy.

Then we wouldn’t be so idle.

A b o u t

McClain Homann is a senior English major concentrating in Creative Writing and Literary Studies at Eastern Illinois University. He is a Mattoon local and is known in the Charleston creative writing community as a rising spoken word poet. Although McClain has been perfecting his craft for many years studying within the creative writing department, this is his first major publication, with hopefully more to come.