My spirit feels like a puddle of heartache this week. How much can a heart absorb – of atrocities, madness, dysfunction?
And then, a spot of simple joy found its way to my inbox – to keep me believing the world is redeemable.
street poem
footfalls
shuffle, scuff, stomp
steadfast surface
absorbs all
but even the tough
eventually
fall
surrender
to the freeze and thaw
brokenhearted
cracked facades
but come quiet
in the night
pavement surgeon’s
putty knife
mosaic’s
vandal act of love
transforms the broken
a poem born
beneath your heel
hope revealed
©draft, Patricia J. Franz
October 26, 2023
Carol Labuzzetta
is our host for Poetry Friday!
She’s celebrating 60
with bats, blessings, and books –
an ekphrastic anthology on nature.
Patricia Franz is a kidlit writer and published poet. She believes children, dogs, and sourdough have a lot to teach us about life, joy, and wonder. She has raised two boys, four dogs, and holds a master’s degree in Theology with a focus on children’s spirituality. Patricia, her husband, her Bernese Mountain dog, Bonny, and her sourdough starter split their time between the Arizona desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains. 
Ahhh, this is lovely, Patricia. Thank you for this beautiful multifaceted gem on such a puddle-of-heartache day, week, month, …
I saw that article, Patricia, take Orion, too! You’ve spread the joy with your poem, love “hope revealed”. Enjoy that warm weather!
Beautiful, Patricia – both your poem and the inspiration for it! I love when art shows up in unexpected places! Thanks for sharing it with those of us who did not see the Orion article!
Finding beauty and hope in unexpected places — YES! Your poem is pure loveliness. Hadn’t heard of the pavement surgeon before, thanks for all!
What a gloriously uplifting story to share, Patricia. This man is a maker, not a breaker. The world is in need of more of his kind. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Your poem beautifully documents his artistic contributions.
This poem is EXACTLY what I needed this morning. Thank you for it and the article about the pavement surgeon. Isn’t it amazing how art thrives despite it all? I’ve also wondered about our collective breaking point. There’s so much trauma all around us.
Art literally mends our broken world. If that’s not hope for humanity, I don’t know what is. And it inspires me to keep making art!
So lovely and uplifting – the art and your poem! I love finding tidbits of “otherness” in the concrete…imprints of leaves, bird feet, and assorted tiny rocks hates where I see imagined objects! But these colors are special!
“hates” was typed as “shapes”. Oh my.
I haven’t seen this particular one, but I’m fascinated by the artists who go around and make art from potholes and broken walls and every other brokenness they find. Your poem is just lovely. “vandal act of love
transforms the broken” Perfection.
Oh, Patricia, thank you for sharing the art of Ememem and his sidewalk poems. It is one of the gifts that the world needs–“beneath your heel / hope revealed” Your tribute poem is beautiful. Thank you.
The article is fascinating, and your poem is so lovely! Thank you for sharing both of them here.
A message of pure hope. I need this. Thank you, Patricia. 🙂
What a great find, Patricia!
THANK YOU, Patricia, for sharing this colorful, joyous “subversive” surprise in the midst of a world on fire. Your poetic celebration is wonderful!
Patricia, thank you for brightening a dark morning with the artistic talents of Ememem. These small “vandal acts of love” offer the promise of hope that “transforms the broken”. What a magnificent way to bring kindness into life in a concrete way. Your poem also brings hope into the world as a random act of kindness.
Thank you for sharing these, Patricia. They are beautiful both in spirit and in vision. The goodness of this artist speaks volumes, and deserves both consideration and mimicry. What piece of beauty might I leave in the world today? Hmmmm…
Gorgeous poem to accompany this altruistic act and beautiful art creation, what a wonderful find, thanks for sharing all Patricia!