City Sanctus

Here's my poem, City Sanctus. I wrote it a few years ago for a "poetry slam" in Birmingham, and read it last night at Birmingham Museum of Art's celebration of civil rights on the occasion of Gandhi's birthday. The picture is the statue of Brother Bryan.

City Sanctus   

Sweet swinging, celestial, high-reverberating slam-dunk sounds,

new fashioned beginnings 

over old fashioned endings!

Certain things are happening.

My voice carries over the city.

At last, our voices carry!

Wheels have turned. Oh, wheel!

Face to face with turning wheels, our voices carry;

anthems changing words as we speak.

No longer bound, we speak changing anthems.

At last, our voices carry, day to night, and night to day.

Children all in white

still mornings

hearts wonder

Will another night come?

Children all in black

still nights

hearts wonder

Will another morning come?

Children all in white, I am here.

Children all in black, I am here.

Lo, I am with you always.

My voice carries over this day and this night.

My voice carries over this city and this sound.

Slam! We know that sound.

Steel ringing

Vulcan wields swinging steel

foundations singing

our voices ring!

Slam!

Birmingham!

© Ramey Channell

Going to a Book Store

Yesterday was a fun day of Southern culinary delights and old book shopping. My sister, Joanne, and I ate a scrumptious lunch at The Irondale Cafe, famously known as The Whistle Stop Cafe in Fannie Flagg's book, "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe."



My sister ordered fried green tomatoes with her lunch, and I ordered green tomatoes parmesan, which I have to tell you, is one of the tastiest foods on earth. I need that recipe.

After finishing our delicious lunch, we walked down to Doggone Books, a treasure trove if you like browsing through thousands of old books. My sister bought a copy of Walker Percy's "Lancelot," and I bought a vintage copy of "Sunlight on the Lawn" by Beverley Nichols.

After reading "Down the Garden Path," the first book in the Merry Hall trilogy, I became a devoted  Beverley Nichols fan. "Sunlight on the Lawn" is the third book in the series; a hilarious series of books written by a "proper" British gentleman about the trials and tribulations of finding, remodelling and decorating his home and garden. These books are witty, hilarious, and more fun than a barrel of monkeys. For a delightful day out, I highly recommend good southern food and a good English novel.