Singing Bones

Jane Yolen

“bones that rose
from the dark earth and sang..”
–Lisel Mueller


They are all around us,
those bones,
singing the stories
of victory, defeat.

They are all beneath us,
those bones,
chanting the lives
of our ancestors.

They are all above us,
those bones,
the angle of their feathers
recalling angels.

They are all inside us,
those bones,
bringing us new songs.
not to replace the old,

but to give them body again,
strength.
to be their voices,
to sing their songs.

 

***

Jane Yolen’s 380th published book is about to come out. She sends out poems to journals on a regular basis and has quite a few in sf/fantasy magazines as well. She is a Grand Master of SFPA (Science Fiction/Fantasy Poets of America), as well as a Grandmaster of SFWA and World Fantasy Assn. She has won the Nebula two times, Mythopoeic Award three times, and been nominated (but never won) for the Hugo several times. Six colleges & universities have given her honorary doctorates for her body of work.