AFTER “THE POET SPEAKS OF PRAISING” BY MICHAEL LEE

How, poet, do you keep the faith?
Through every phase
You sit down and praise
I think I understand prayer
And the love for God

But when prayers go unanswered
In the still of the night
When the slave feels the master
In the early morning light
When no one is coming
To put out the fire
When the scum of the earth lays down
Money to buy her
When Nazi gas takes poor mother from father
When no answer comes

You praise, through all you praise
When your children taste death in
terrible ways, with predictable response
You praise

Michael Lee is a student at the University of Arkansas Fort Smith majoring in History, and minoring in Creative Writing.