Canticle 217

Lee Miller as a saint for today

What would you have seen, Lee,
in Kyiv
in those windowless cafes
that still turn
like elsewhere
long ago
under the bombs?

What would you have seen, Lee,
in Mariupol
for you would have gone there
you who saw Dachau
and never
returned
not truly
not fully
the camps
death
remained in the dark circles
in the bags under your eyes
until the end?

Would you have found
the courage
to follow the processions
fleeing Gaza
only to perhaps find
no way out?

And what do you think
of those camps
today
that no one will ever photograph
in the corners
prison like corners
of Africa and Asia
where they murder
peacefully
in the shadow
of an impossible
image?

I agree with you
there won’t be enough alcohol
to numb
all of this
and the glory they’re giving you
today
what do you think of it?

I doubt you’re happy
to be seen as a role model
you would have done anything
what am I saying
you did anything
to no longer be one
and simply
be
testify
what must be said
what lives
as well as what is dying
taking upon yourself
the sum of the unreal
which ranges from dream
to the most absolute nightmare

I will make you
a saint
Lee
who proves
by your journey
by your own suffering
so multifaceted
the will for something else
the possibility
not only of remembering
but of celebrating
what continues to create
and finding the way
to have tenderness
even for the stones
with a broken heart
and nights filled with demons