Poetry and Song in the Garden of Human Rights: "Boston City Singers"

Some time last winter Anne and I attended a concert in a big old New England church in Milton, Mass., performed by an incredibly talented and painstakingly rehearsed ensemble called "The Boston City Singers." 
         I had never heard of this chorus of student singers, but I was blown away by the performance the young singers delivered. 
         On their web page, the chorus states:  "We learn discipline and celebrate diversity." 
         Here's a slightly longer self-description from the page: 

"Boston City Singers is an El Sistema-inspired program founded 20 years ago in Boston’s inner city neighborhood of Dorchester. We train and inspire the musician, student, and ambassador in each singer by providing the highest level of musical instruction and wide-ranging performance opportunities to support personal development, celebrate diversity, and foster good will."

        And here's a link to their site: 
https://bostoncitysingers.org/
          I was both impressed and moved by the performance of these school-age singers and also intrigued by the songs selected for this program. One of them, "Make Them Hear You," from the musical "Ragtime," addresses injustice and the the roots of the civil rights movement. 
           Another song makes use of the word "Madiba," Nelson Mandela's clan name. The clan or family name represents a person's ancestry and is used as sign of respect.  
           I used references to both songs -- the song title "Make them hear you" and the African word "Madiba" -- in the poem I wrote shortly after hearing that concert. When, months later, I considered entering a contest sponsored by two organizations, "Poets for Human Rights" and "Poets Without Borders," I remembered the poem I had written about the feelings this concert had stirred in me and submitted it for the award. 
           A few weeks ago -- "On the eve of the 71^st Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," as the sponsors put it -- I received word that my poem, titled "Boston City Singers,"
had been chosen for the first prize. I was delighted that the singers and songs that had so moved me, and inspired a poem, had been recognized by the two organizations that celebrate and mark the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It felt like the circle was complete.
             The poem was read at the groups' celebration of the  
Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Dunedin, Fla., and then published on two online subscription groups. 
              Since those online groups did not archive the postings, I'm posting the poem here, for anyone who cares to read it. 
               I'm pleased (and proud, of course) that the poem won a prize and for the causes the contest supports. But the contest also gives me an opportunity to share a poem that stirs the emotions aroused by the inspiring performances of these songs by the young Boston City Singers. 

 


                        Boston City Singers


You unsettle my soul
Sing to the pain in my limbs
And loose the ice in my heart
“Make them hear you!”

This old white building enclosing the songs of a life
that would make of earth a heaven
if we let it
Will we let it?
Tell me, “Where is Madiba?”
“We have not seen him.”

Spirit does not die
It gets to the bones
Wakes the thing that tingles
as if striking a gong
calling to worship the birds of the tree,
the trees with their upswelling
branching and leafing once again,
songs to clear the air, stir the blood and
make the sap run
in spaces slow and gloom-ridden
like the clay toes of the stumbling tyrant

The songs of the children raise
the soul
in old flesh.