The poem Silas House wrote for Gov. Andy Beshear’s inauguration: “Those Who Carry Us”
Editor’s Note: For his second inauguration, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear asked state Poet Laureate Silas House to write a poem. House wrote “Those Who Carry Us” and read it at the inauguration in Frankfort on Dec. 12, 2023.
THOSE WHO CARRY US
for the second inauguration of Governor Andy Beshear
___
When I was little, a storm gathered
in the night with shivers of lightning
and quaking thunder. The rain fell cold
and sideways for three days. All the creeks
conspired to the raging river.
As the flood seeped beneath our door
my mother sat me on her hip.
She carried me, muddy foam
striking her knees, then her waist,
before she reached high ground, where
neighbors waited to help us.
___
Once, my aunt ran down the road with me
latched to her chest, a tornado
behind her. In the church basement
we could hear the havoc. She whispered:
if you are still and quiet this will pass.
Afterwards, a mighty moon shined
so bright I could see our shadows
as the world dripped and righted.
Already people were rebuilding.
Even hammers and saws make a kind of music.
___
Often, these days, I study
on those who carry us.
The everyday people who
keep the engine of the world
running. When the darkest skies
move in, I remind myself
that most people are good.
___
I think of schoolteachers who say:
You matter. Bus-drivers who are glad
to see us each morning. Lunch-ladies,
laughing as they ladle out our food.
All those who stand up for what is right.
There are so many ways to change
the world. The mechanic and miner,
mail carrier, cashiers and clerks.
Singers, farmers, and truckdrivers.
I can see them. I imagine
their sore shoulders and tired legs.
I thank them for carrying
me, even when I didn’t know.
___
We carry each other, from Pine Mountain
to the Pennyroyal. Past tulip
poplars and goldenrods. From city
streets to holler roads, from the wide
Ohio to the quickening
creeks of the Gorge, we go forward,
together. We lift our neighbors
from Hickman to Hindman, Mayfield
to Louisville, Cadiz, Cumberland Falls,
Falls of Rough, from the Bluegrass to Bowling
Green. Eminence to Independence.
Lawrence, Laurel, LaRue, I will carry you.
Kentucky, we walk a ways together, no matter
if it is in cold rain or moonlight. Sometimes
the only music is hammers and saws, but we
keep going, aiming for the high ground where they
will be standing with their arms out, saying
Come here, and rest. Let me help you.
___
Silas House is Kentucky Poet Laureate 2023-2025.
This story was originally published December 14, 2023 at 9:53 AM.