I Can Hear Her (A Poem for Peace)

by Claire Gannon

Claire is a rising junior at North High School in Eau Claire. She loves creative writing and also participates in theater and soccer. Claire read this poem aloud at a March for Our Lives protest in Eau Claire on Saturday, June 11, 2022.
Content warning: Gun violence in schools
Claire says: “I wrote this poem several years ago as a response to the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. It vocalizes my hopes for a more peaceful future for our country, and describes how we can achieve that future through creative activism and collaboration to end tragedies like the shooting in Parkland.”

I Can Hear Her 

(A Poem for Peace)

Her voice

It echoes

I can hear it

She is singing

Chanting

Her words are 

Dancing colors


They disrupt the mind

They envelop the heart 

If She is singing a sonnet

I do not know it

But I can hear Her swift melodies

Each note is

Dancing


Lithe tunes

Tangled

In an endless, enchanting

Rhythm

But I hear other things 

Too


The shouts, the insults

Fiery words grasp for Her voice

They strangle Her melodies;

They are consuming Her voice

Mockery and ridicule 

Infect the tranquil sound


There is more

In the distance,

An endless pounding

Like a flash

There

Then gone

Then back again


The gunshots sound

Loud and unforgiving 

Ignorant and life-taking

I hear crying

Tears drown out the gunfire


A river of sorrow floods in

The deep mournings 

of mothers and

The weeping cries of children

Their cries cannot

Stop


They repeat listlessly

Their cries will always

Remain

Insufferable to 

Listen to

Impossible to

Ignore


The hate and despair

Flourish

But listen-

She is still

Singing

The gunshots, the crying-

They will not drown Her out


Her voice

It stills resonates

In a glorious tune

Though weary, carrying the weight 

Of injured spirits,

It still

Rings out


Her mystical song

Ignites the soul

And gives the spirit rest

She sings of the past

She sings of how we overcame it

She sings of justice and advocacy 

And it sounds

Beautiful


 Yes, It is beautiful

I can hear it

Can you?

Can you hear Her?

Another voice joins the anthem

And I close my eyes

And let the voices, united

In perfect harmony

Take me


More voices join

And soon

I can hear a choir

A chorus of vivid songs together

It is even more

Beautiful

Than before


A few notes escape my lips

And I begin

To join the voices

How many of us

Can sing together?

I wonder


There are still shouts of hate

In the silence

Fearful wails

Between our voices

But the hate will flicker away

Like a blown out candle

 When we all sing loud enough


 We sing of

Righteousness 

Service

And world peace

 We sing of 

Love

And it is stronger than the hate


Our harmonies

Assist the love

They resist the fear

Our voices echo

I can hear us


 We are singing

Chanting

 Yes, I can hear us

 You do not need to know

The words, nor have a rich

Or perfect voice

 Just sing

Sing with us

And many voices will

Become one

And many hearts will

Become united


About the author: Wisconsin Public Education Network

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