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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 2017)
Street Roots • August 11-17, 2017 Poetry Page 13 Upholder by Aileen McPherson The Aftermath by Eileen Vizenor With life full of strife how do morals not become trite, when death is a vestment worn daily by a mind born of servitude, where latitude like gratitude is excised by a being who prided self as truthful despising lies, all while forcing deception on those he chose to have connection. It was the day after May 4, 1979 and I woke with no mom Hoping it was all a bad dream But my heart was aching, my eyes were swollen, and my smile gone. While lies unfolded a mind grew colder as body continued to be battered, four more lives would be shattered, contradicting laws that matter for greed deplorable against familial craft, how does one last before a mind burned, mortified, crashed. Will I ever smile again? Will this pain in my heart ever heal? I’m consumed with my loss. Then I think of my dad. He must be feeling as I do. What about my siblings? How are they holding up? I must get out of myself so I can be there for others. With every fiber of my being I am there for my family. Put honesty before lies, other before thine, morality is a perspective be objective, value truth, elevate perpetuate solidarity for harmony’s sake, we are great, despite past paths that we have been made to undertake. Upholders are we, fighting for rights that should be, formed not of greed but through truest equality, resist your past to make a sustainable future that will last, lest not we forget our deplorable past. Fam ilyCare tra n sla te s in to good health O . g 1:03 FamHyCare Health B FamilyCare Health ■ 1 t Welcome! Health happens here. It’s « w / to « 8 yaor F o m lty C » Health orw uige, to t ms shew you how... Are you a FamilyCare Health member? Get instant access to your health care with our free mobile app! Review your benefits, search for doctors and clinics, access your digital ID card, and more. Download the app today from Google Play or the App Store. Available in English, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese! 800-458-9518 | www.familycareinc.org f * CREATE A N ACCOUNT LOG
