His Mother's Cries
by Anai Harris
On the 16th Street Church Bombing, 1963
Mama cried for her;
she cried for the little brown girl
that lived at end of our street
who was no longer with us.
But instead, buried
underneath the ruins of the church.
I felt my mother's cries.
I could tell by the way
her tears stained her cheeks:
she was losing her faith.
She had been there after the explosion.
When the little girl's mother ran through the crowd
and fell to her knees at the foot of the ruins.
Where she found nothing but the shoe
she had put on her daughter that morning.
The girl's mother sat there asking God why.
Soon after, my mother began to do the same.
Every night, she would ask God why.
Why he’d taken something so precious.
Not long after, we stopped going to church.
My mother claimed
there was not a church to go to
and my father was just happy to sleep in on Sundays.
My mother cried, knowing
that horrible things were always happening
all around her.
Mostly, she cried knowing
that she could do nothing about it.
Yet another tragedy
manufactured in the eyes of hate.
Hate so strong that death was not a sacrifice
but a relief.
I cried for my mother.
She cried for the world.
Who cried for me?
About the Writer...
Anai Harris is a junior in Creative Writing at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. With five years of experience in writing plays, ballads, mysteries, and numerous poems, Anai has developed a diverse and impressive portfolio. She has participated in various contests with her original work, including the Tomorrow's Leaders Contest and the NaNoWriMo Contest. This year, Anai was honored with an award from the James Weldon Johnson Young Writers Contest. Anai is excited to bring her creative writing to new heights as she embarks on her next writing adventures.
About the Artist...
Daysha Perez is a 11th grader at Douglas Anderson school of the Arts. She is a visual arts major who has always had a passion for creative artistry, particularly painting. Most of the art she creates is acrylic paint on canvas. She fell in love with the medium in elementary school and works with it frequently.