Save the Frescoes That Are Us
For Edith Parker-Kerouac
These murals would’ve existed here,
in Detroit, even if Diego had never painted,
Them. The sweat and the labor of this city,
Along with the sacrificed blood
Of its workers, would have stained
These walls. No matter what.
This town, beautiful, lonely child
Broken by too much post-industrial
Hard luck, is always, once again,
Resurrected with deep convictions.
Our longevity cuts deeper than forever;
It’s far longer than Rivera’s Lenin-headed
Mural-Rock Center Manhattan, torn
Down by those city slicker liberals in NYC
Beachhead of American culture and civilization.
Not here! The politics of Detroit
Go beyond arguing fresco vs. Classic,
Or any something vs. anything. Here we deal
In a culture of collective energies,
Beating union heart. Here, it’s always
Work-Not Talk. We know that
Talk is cheap, but work is
Forever. We know
That building is more
Essential to our survival than politics
Is to our reality.
by M.L. Liebler
M. L. Liebler is a internationally known & widely published Detroit poet, university professor, literary arts activist and arts organizer, and he is the author of 13 books including the Award winning “Wide Awake in Someone Else’s Dream” (Wayne State University Press 2008) featuring poems written in and about Russia, Israel, Germany, Alaska and Detroit. He has taught writing, American Studies and Labor Studies at Wayne State University since 1980. Read a post on Mittenlit about his Michigan Notable Book, “Working Words”.
