May All Division Cease

gaby bedetti  
says the hymn,
like the truce
where enemies left their trenches
to play soccer,
like this fourth of July road race

So many footfalls drumming
the patter striking the ground keeps packs
together, some are giddy, others struggle
each runner searches for perfect
cadence

A retired banker rides in a baby jogger
pushed by his son
A baby toddles in circles
Dad dumps sis out of the stroller
Firefighters run in full gear
My yoga teacher calls out

From the curb, coffee-drinking friends
cheer. I clap for a colleague
We shout encouragement
to each group, not just the swiftest
all who labor without rest
sweat dripping

I choke back tears
watch them run and walk
to the finish, smiling
arms up in the air

 

 
 

        

Author Bio 

Gaby Bedetti is a photographer, writer, teacher, and translator working in Lexington, Kentucky. Her work has appeared in Rhino, Puerto del Sol, World Literature Today, and other magazines. She is circulating a co-translation of the poems of Henri Meschonnic, a writer who believed in language’s ability to dissolve borders.