Poem-A-Day: The Multitude by Ellen Hinsey

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The Multitude by Ellen Hinsey Standing at the edge is the great Multitude. They inch forward in their rags and hunger.    Their movement along the ground lifts    the sound of ancestral migrations. They are carrying the dark water of need    in their eyes; they are carrying the first    vowels, the first consonants, But their mouths are silent, and watchful. And the great scavenging wings hang over them;    the raven eyes hunting among the muteness    of the winding cortege. Beside them are the pools filled with the specters    of famine, civil war, drought-- They become one body, a muscle of need.    A testament of want. And night--which is always upon them-rides them    like the wild horses of the storm-filled plains. They will inherit the earth only when the final    pilgrimage is done. For in this life, the crystal lake and the great sword    of understanding, raised high, will not show    them mercy. Far off, in the West, a light burns brightly. But    it is not for them. Copyright © 2013 by Ellen Hinsey. Used with permission of the author. Poetry by Hinsey Update on the Descent Guest Editor Arthur Sze was elected Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets in 2012. He is a professor emeritus at the Institute of American Indian Arts and the first poet laureate of Santa Fe. Find out more about the Academy's Board of Chancellors>  January 11, 2013 Ellen Hinsey is the author of numerous collections of poetry, including Cities of Memory, which was chosen for the Yale Series of Younger Poets prize. She lives in Paris. Related Poems Many Asked Me Not to Forget Them by Naomi Shihab Nye Ancestors by Cesare Pavese Crowds Surround Us by Tom Thompson Poem-A-Day started as a National Poetry Month program in 2006, delivering daily poems from newly-published poetry titles.   Due to popular demand, Poem-A-Day became a year-round program in 2010, featuring original, never-before-published poems by contemporary poets on weekdays, and classic poems on weekends.   Browse the Poem-A-Day archive for selections since 2010.  Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem In Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.

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