Small Acts of Good: Poetry, Langston Hughes, Dreams, & Voting....
"The Dream Keeper" by Langston Hughes
Dear Friend or Hey Dreamer--
Can you believe the last time I wrote was February 14th? Why that seems about 14 years ago. You'd think we were in a worldwide pandemic or something. . . Wait, what? All kidding aside--how are you holding up? I hope this note finds you doing as well as possible in "the too-rough fingers of the world."
I am at a writing residency away from those too-rough fingers of the world and yet, still I woke at 3 a.m this morning and did the insomnia/anxiety thing I seem to do when elections (and a new book of poems) are near. I started thinking about being a poet, artist, or creator during this time, and the importance of art, how every work we create is essential and also political. I keep thinking about how making art can change the world for the better. It's the idea that small acts of good add up.
I have always wondered what the world would look like if the first thing everyone did in the morning when they woke up was to create a piece of art. A poem. A drawing. A song. When we weren't reacting to an outside source or something we accidentally clicked on, but responding to our own inner thoughts, those first ideas of the morning all washed over from dreams and a (hopefully) good night's sleep.
This morning when I woke up, I started thinking about poet Langston Hughes. He wrote a lot about democracy, so (as one does at 3 a.m), I decided to turn to his words, his thoughts, his poems, and I stumbled onto a short play he wrote called The Ballot and Me.
This play was performed at St. James Presbyterian Church in Harlem, on Friday, June 29, 1956, as part of a program to promote voter registration. (If you'd like to learn more, it's part of Yale's rare book and manuscript library here.)
But I want to share how it ends. This image, typed by Hughes on his own typewriter so many years ago touched me and also, gave me a little hope:
All the characters shouting "Vote!" All those exclamation points! They reminded me of individual Americans filling out their ballots and dropping them off, standing in long lines because they want their voices counted and heard--all these small exclamations across the country. And I felt a reminder of our history and responsibility to show up, speak out, and to take care of one another.
I understand how sometimes it feels as if we can't do a lot, that things are happening outside of our control--things we may not want and things we don't agree with but I hold fast to the belief that all of our small actions add up; we can vote and we can be stronger together.
And like Langston, may we always carry hope and never lose any faith in a better future . . .
From Langston Hughes' poem, "Dreams":
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
Thanks for being part of my community, we may have never experienced anything like this, but I trust we will get through it together.
Sending lots of love, light, hope, and a wish for more poems,
Kelli
P.S. I do have some good news about my book, Dialogues with Rising Tides (you can click the link to see the cover or preorder) but let's save that for after November 3rd when hopefully the sky looks a little more blue. Take good care of yourself, this world needs you. xo
Kelli Russell Agodon
Poet/Writer/Editor, Two Sylvias Press kelli@agodon.com Website: www.agodon.com
Dialogues with Rising Tides, forthcoming from Copper Canyon Press in 2021
