Sing A Song

for Jack Micheline

early morning
sun in the sky
that big yellow bird
pulls up to the front walk
of the school
and the doors open
and a song
falls down the stairs
with kids wearing smiles
out onto the front walk
and I ask the bus driver
why she sings songs
with the kids
she brings to school
every day
and home every night
and she said to me
if they’re singing songs
they’re not fighting
they’re not fighting
and I sat down
on a bench
with those words
in my head
and I thought
to myself
sitting in the sun
why can’t rich old men
sing songs together
rich old men financing
all these wars
should sing songs together
and all the soldiers
all over the world
should sing songs together
as their bones are bleached
by the sun
out in the battlefields
and all the politicians
in all the countries
under the stars
can get together
and sing songs
they can all sing the same song
a song about the children
a song about the homeless
a song about the hungry
a song about the soldier
whose bones
are being bleached
by the sun
out in the battlefields

 

Jake St. John, writes out of New London, CT.  He is the co-editor of Flying Fish and the editor of Elephant. His work has appeared in several print publications including the People’s Tribune, Unarmed Journal, Fell Swoop, Burp and The Chaffey Review.