dry bones
left behind by the waters
dry bones
devoid of the breath of
life

can these dry bones live?

dry bones
lying next to a baby doll, blue eyes
covered in mud, next to a red dress
a woman once pulled of
 in the name of pleasure,

dry bones
of a life now spent
dry bones
clacking with the song of
the bayou
as the waters are rising
like the sound a jazz band

can these dry bones live?

but god breathes jazz back into
dry bones
takes their voices back
from the winds
puts it back into their bodies
and they live

dry bones rise from the
gumbo of despair
and they live

dry bones dance a second
line into dreams

and they live

-- Erren ​Geraud Kelly