A documentary poem attempts to capture a historical event in words, images, sound, or other media forms. These types of poems, generally written in the first person, can take a more removed third-person perspective, concern an event. I’ve decided my documentary poems will be about the stuff that never captures the headlines. The subject of these poems is the stuff I hear, see. or live. Therefore, I wrote, There go I, to reflect the event happening in the pictures of a local act of charity.
There Go I
In our city, there is a women’s and children’s shelter
Offering food and housing to those without a home
And a group of bikers every year running helter-skelter
From store to store, they persist
To find the coveted items on a list
These folks are the subject of this poem
If you need to question and ask why
It’s because except for the grace of God, there go I
It started many years ago
The idea to adopt Open Arms at Christmas time
The project the brainchild of Theo
“They need our help, and you have to admit
This is a project to which we can commit
If we ignore these kids, it would be a terrible crime
Theo said with a deep sigh,
Because except for the grace of God, there go I
Therefore, The vote was cast
The victory won
Jerry, the money raiser, worked fast
The funds were raised
So within a matter of days
The shopping had begun
A tiny tear trickled from every eye
Because except for the grace of God, there go I
For years the bikers followed the tradition
Shopping for women and children, they would never know
Considering it their sacred Christmas mission
They checked the lists to make sure it was right
Wrapping presents long into the night
In bright gift wrapping with a holiday bow
If you asked them to give an explanation and clarify
They would say, except for the grace of God, there go I
In 2020, covid-19 caused everything to change
Shopping was dangerous, and Open Arms had cases
The lack of shopping made it ll seem strange
Still, a check was delivered outside the gate
By the biker organization called ABATE
With the hope of putting smiles on a lot of faces
It wasn’t the same but a decent try
Because except for the grace of God, there go I
Molly Shea is an accomplished fictional short story writer from Indiana who writes short stories and novels about a fictional town called Tecumseh. To read more of her short stories and adventures, click here.
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