Untitled (Oldold) Poem by Shelby Barker

Millions of lost souls have been screaming to the heavens. Piled high, muffled inaudibly low,

Their names and their stories are told and not heard.

They arrived off the train in twos, with nothing left to prove; they were of no use for now.

Dispose of these! those inhumans screamed,

Adding to the heap.

They were buried deep, over and under

Each other.

Was this their deathbed?

They still shouted, shout still, for their others; and how could they possibly be united? How could you miraculously find these two of a kind?

Listen!

Listen to the voices of the souls, the patterns in the story-etched soles,

“Behind every pair is a life”.

Bound them together with a lock of your own hair, your father’s hair, your neighbor’s!

Was this their deathbed?

Indefinite.

Immortality claimed them now.

They’re shouting at us! Listen! They refuse to be ignored any longer. Listen! The tears they weep are a part of history!

“Look at the shoes…look at them crying.”