"It Takes All Our Voices"
A Collaborative Piece
by
Dennis Hinrichsen, Greater Lansing Poet Laureate
Out of nothing a color
out of idea a word
Out of word a song
It takes a street and a vision
It takes a voice
[your voice]
my voice
Echo of that voice
It takes incubation acceleration
Collaboration a resource
A dream or design tested
In this place--
where we live--
our place
It takes all these places
urban gardens runways
all the voices
co-worker scientist entrepreneur
*
Innovation possible on every corner
Spring rain sudden across the pavement
Capitol in full bloom
so many pieces
It takes imagination endeavor and risk
A child’s face beaming
free and beautiful as a rare isotope
It takes clay and a wheel and a soft hand
It takes iron and brass
the forge
Artisans of food and drink
It takes an assembly line of steel
and teamwork
and pride in the labor
*
Or deep water and deep-channeled currents
The feel of the river like the feel of a street
serene and solo we drive
Or in tandem in conversation across the landscape
It takes this
a corridor and an overpass
communities bridged
*
It takes openness and curiosity and a human touch
Maker and listener
a human yes
The one who paints or sculpts or builds
and the one who benefits
It takes a mosaic
Creativity an equation
expression
A realization in that space between us
the space that births us
is birthed by us
You can’t be what you can’t see
*
Wind walks the ledges near a river of dreams
That is one way of speaking
Or this
I have made this thing out of idea and effort and soul
Out of tolerance and humility
Does it please?
Does it connect?
Does it move?
*
There is art here and richness
a jazz richness
blues richness
mint richness
Our thinking
Sharing
Embracing
Living
Culture
Capitol City crowning the center of it all
by
Dennis Hinrichsen, Greater Lansing Poet Laureate
Out of nothing a color
out of idea a word
Out of word a song
It takes a street and a vision
It takes a voice
[your voice]
my voice
Echo of that voice
It takes incubation acceleration
Collaboration a resource
A dream or design tested
In this place--
where we live--
our place
It takes all these places
urban gardens runways
all the voices
co-worker scientist entrepreneur
*
Innovation possible on every corner
Spring rain sudden across the pavement
Capitol in full bloom
so many pieces
It takes imagination endeavor and risk
A child’s face beaming
free and beautiful as a rare isotope
It takes clay and a wheel and a soft hand
It takes iron and brass
the forge
Artisans of food and drink
It takes an assembly line of steel
and teamwork
and pride in the labor
*
Or deep water and deep-channeled currents
The feel of the river like the feel of a street
serene and solo we drive
Or in tandem in conversation across the landscape
It takes this
a corridor and an overpass
communities bridged
*
It takes openness and curiosity and a human touch
Maker and listener
a human yes
The one who paints or sculpts or builds
and the one who benefits
It takes a mosaic
Creativity an equation
expression
A realization in that space between us
the space that births us
is birthed by us
You can’t be what you can’t see
*
Wind walks the ledges near a river of dreams
That is one way of speaking
Or this
I have made this thing out of idea and effort and soul
Out of tolerance and humility
Does it please?
Does it connect?
Does it move?
*
There is art here and richness
a jazz richness
blues richness
mint richness
Our thinking
Sharing
Embracing
Living
Culture
Capitol City crowning the center of it all
