The Earth Sings Mi-Fa-Mi
Pat Lowther
(…so we can gather even from this
that Misery and Famine reign on
our habitat. – Joannes Kepler,
a footnote to Harmonics Mundi.)
Outside the U.S. Consulate
in freezing wind
the street theatre group
arranges space within
the crowd
The girl who represents
the Vietnamese people
wears a black body
stocking and a mask
I thought at first
patronizing
but as the mime unfolds
its over-human contours
and its broken eyes
immovable
become a perfect image
for us all
Those of us near
the players sing with them
softly shouldering aside
our inhibitions
Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh
hoping our soft noise
will spread outward
from the centre
But the wind screams
and the earth spinning
like notes uttered
from whipped wires
the earth sings Mi-Fa-Mi
Lowther, Pat. “The Earth Sings Mi-Fa-Mi.” Mountain Moving Day: Poems by Women. Ed Elaine Gill. New York: The Crossing, 1973. 83.
Reprinted with permission from the Pat Lowther Estate.