By Alex Ledford
Artwork “Monument to Airmen” by Selma Burke
I
Only Gladys, goddess
of sly grins, of askew
goggles and nylon underwear,
table scraps, manna, and talcum powder,
can save you now.
She is a gorgeous
dark purple shadowed
with razor blue,
she is still clouds at night.
II
It is 1993. What are you doing
with your life?
“I’m only six.”
Get it together, Small Idiot,
in the Big Leagues you don’t have to ask
when to go to the bathroom.
III
after this candle toppled to the floor
IV
The human spirit is Perseverance.
They told us that in school.
I hope they’re right, I hope I get such
a beautiful angel
as the Tuskegee Airmen did.
From the Sculpture by Selma Burke

John Wilson White
Studio Phocasso