Five years ago on Sunday, August 4, 2019, a gunman opened fire in Dayton's Oregon District, injuring 27 people and killing nine. The horrors of that night still haunt many people who were there and who saw evil up-close. In a flash, a beloved entertainment district that many people view as the beating heart of downtown Dayton was turned into something resembling a war zone.
Five years later on Sunday, August 4, 2024, a memorial, The Seed of Life, honoring the nine victims of the shooting was unveiled. The public artwork created by a team of local artists pairs nine standing pieces and a ground mosaic in several colors. It memorializes the lives that were lost, the resilience of a community. It's a place to heal. It's just sad that it had to be built.
Remember the Seed
Sunlight shines on a mosaic of gnarled
and supple hands tilling the soil of sorrow
and solace, sowing the enduring seed of life.
Hands, steeped in generations of gully-
scarred Gem City grit, reach back and pull
from the rootstock of ancestral resilience
etched upon weathered gabled rooftops
and vintage Victorian trim, tracing back
to tales of treasured Oregon District traditions.
Out of the darkness a deluge of mourning rain
watered seeds of courage, wedged beneath cracks
of uneven concrete by pioneering feet
on the corner of Jackson Street - bloomed
into a beacon of unwavering bravery
in the face of carnage and catastrophe. Strangers
sharing proximity, staff serving, friends bar hopping
and first responders across the Miami Valley
choked on panicked grief, sobbed in disbelief,
comforted the ailing, throbbed as one human heart
beating in survivors’ solidarity. The ears of heaven
rang and nine apotheosized doves spread
their whistling wings on Fifth street. Halos
of hurt harness the stems of sorrow. We climb
toward the light of lasting peace. Candle-lit
eyes have grown weary, lamented with images
of sidewalk roses, stumbling over condolences,
cobblestone cries, wilting scarlet carnations,
and handmade signs end the vigil veneration
speeches - lawmakers “do something.” Remember
the seed of a mother’s might, a father’s prayer,
a son’s levity, a daughter’s loyalty, a brother’s grit,
a sister’s spirit, an aunt’s affection, an uncle’s wit
and a friend’s laughter to mollify the resin of resistance.
Disperse seedlings, sow harmonious, grounded healing.
We are all on a pilgrimage to be loved in between
the coming and going home - there is space to grow.
~ Sierra Leone, poet, Dayton, OH (2024)
And still no meaningful gun control laws.
ReplyDelete