Witness

Mary Carvell Bragg lives in Arizona and belongs to a circle of friends and fellow writers who get together and share their poetry and prose. I love her poems and have posted her poems in the past. I especially enjoy hearing her reading her own poems. (She recorded a cd called Vantage Point) Last week I offered to post poems for the readers of this blog and she offered this gem. This poem evokes strong visuals for me. I especially like the last line. It reminds me there is so much that happens in this world that goes unnoticed that may be more important than the events we are aware of. Thanks for sharing, Mary.

WITNESS

I was there when two drops of water

coalesced to jump-start an ocean

as Grandmother Spider’s tentative web

evolved into a masterpiece

when Venus and Mars

lined up beside the moon

I was there in the garden

with a serpent, a man, a woman

surrounded by trees laden with fruit

when everyone knew the language of animals

when a cave man uttered two Ughs

and his mate understood

I was with a virgin atop an Aztec teocalli

hands and feet bound, head back

neck offered to the blade

with Mary when the Archangel appeared

with Buddha under the bodhi tree

I was with homeless strangers

pooling body warmth to survive the night

with the Jews at Auschwitz and Bergen-Belson

when a second atomic bomb ravaged Nagasaki

when the last carrier pigeon fell unnoticed to the ground

—Mary Carvell Bragg