Silence for Jack by Antony di Nardo

one solemn bagpipe drones
two beats of silence between guns

a child cries alone
a crowd applauds

the bells of the Peace Tower sing
an anthem

Imagine …
an ellipsis of notes of steel rings

for words won’t move
his body forward to its hearse

where the media roll its ready visuals
with a tenor in Hi Def

a distinct nation in self-surround
and for a serious moment

all the rest is silence
for Jack

Dream no little dreams (from an Indigenous prayer, spoken at the funeral) by Ellen S. Jaffe

Bagpipes play their strange sad lament –
TV lets us see everything without being there:
Olivia’s strained face, baby Beatrice,
the silent surging crowd.

This morning I cleaned my kitchen cupboards,
touched up the orange paint (Colorado Dawn) –
death does this, makes us clean, straighten, see, listen, and touch –
loved ones, flowers, household clutter.

Rise Up – Amazing Grace – Hallelujah –
O Canada, how can we lose this man, who gave a voice to the voiceless,
home to the homeless, a song of hope to people in need –
not a saint, but a very human being.

I regret I did not know you, met you
only once – an NDP meeting – shook your hand,
saw your smile. The political is personal,
the personal political – you knew this by heart.

Now you go from the ordinary world – bike paths,
jam sessions, elections – into the mystic...
Into The Mystic, where we can’t yet follow.
All our love goes with you – love is all
we need to keep your dreams alive.


Ellen S. Jaffe

For Jack Layton, d. August 22, 2011 by Penn Kemp

Jack Layton, photo taken from Facebook page

Now it feels significant to let Jack free to dance
or rest in peace, after such a monumental fight.

Somehow I feel he has won the war; I feel him
triumphant. As for the NDP, I have a vision of

not one leader rising to replace him, but a collective
of MPs riding the national swell of love for Jack.

Now Canadians in experiencing such devastating loss
will recognize his value and the values of the NDP. 

At last. This may be his greatest gift to us. The time
has come not for another charismatic leader to see us

through but for the collective tribe to work in unity for
community.

You can hear Penn being interviewed at Sound Therapy Radio and on CBC's Ontario Morning.

September 1, 6-6:30 pm.

The Spirit of a Leader with Penn Kemp in honour of Jack Layton on her show, Gathering Voices, CHRW FM, 94.9 FM. (Repeated September 8, 6:30-7:00 am).

Listen live on www.chrwradio.com/listen. First interviewed by Jay Peachy on http://soundtherapyradio.com/2011/08/23/the-spirit-of-a-leader-with-john-pippus-amanda-rheaume-and-penn-kemp/ .

Yesterday, for Jack Layton (1950-2011) by Waldemar Ens

yesterday
a carved wooden cane called cancer
              came out of nowhere and
                            whacked us in the solar plexus

but when Jack carried it he used it like a
sceptre
magically inspiring the different strands to tie together

reaching out and hooking us in
poking prodding the soft underside of
apathy

pointing out a better way down
a clearer road

helping us walk that road
even with our broken hips

yesterday
a gentle wooden cane
             fell out of nowhere
                            at our feet

waiting for us to pick it up

Among Today’s Dead and Sorely Missed by Penn Kemp

photo by Heidi Greco

So there’s Jack, standing at the gates with Jerry
Leiber, who co-wrote 'Hound Dog,' 'Stand By Me,'
and 'Jailhouse Rock’. Sure hope Jack managed
to smuggle up his guitar. Wonder which song
he’s singing first. A duet I wish we could hear.
By this irreverent ditty, Jack would be chuffed.

You can hear Penn being interviewed at Sound Therapy Radio and on CBC's Ontario Morning.

The Last Line is Yours by Penn Kemp

Penn & Jack reading a poem for peace

I dream Jack Layton is sitting up in bed
joyously celebrating his win, beaming,
radiant: his indomitable optimism seeing
him through cancer and out the other side.

I know the game’s over. He understands
what we won’t till we too join him across
that last finishing line. Wherever you are,

Jack, we love you. Thank you for all you
won for us now that you are one with all.

His last line? “And we’ll change the world.”

You can hear Penn being interviewed at Sound Therapy Radio and on CBC's Ontario Morning.

Up and At 'Em, for Jack by Penn Kemp

Who is always hip!

Hip enough to lean left,
very left of centre and
perfectly well balanced.

Hip enough to call down
injustice when he sees it.

Hip enough to calm down
doubt and call out for all

those whose voices are
silenced. Hip enough to
know when the next
election is called for.

Hip to the latest outrage
fraud too easily lent.

Hip enough to lead
opposition into power:

Our next Prime Minister
surely. In confidence.

When a hip poem is called for,
a hip poem responds,
comes out swinging.

Hip, Hip, Hooray! 

(March 6, 2011)

You can hear Penn being interviewed at Sound Therapy Radio and on CBC's Ontario Morning.

Sleepless by Elsie K. Neufeld

Blackberries, taken by Elsie Neufeld

Elsie says "This poem was written on Monday, August 22, before I heard the news that Jack had died. I had him in mind, as well as the wife of a friend who was diagnosed with cancer at the time that Jack made his last public announcement. Therefore this, and the other poem I submitted, is for Jack and others recently diagnosed, and being taken from life by cancer. There is no "Battle". Some cancers are bigger than life and human efforts." 



Sleepless
for Jack and others, and especially for their loved ones.

this morning at five
streetlamps illumined
the dark wet ground. Light
arrowed down from
shadowy posts, shone
upward and out from
rain-mirrored asphalt.
Each puddle a mine of
refractions. Elsewhere,
unnoticed, hanging on
roadside or field, a hard
green berry will soften. Turn
black. What eye doesn't
need such glossing, beauty
of blackberry and light

just jack by Joe Blades

no aide

no entourage
no bodyguard
just jack
at the entrance
to moe’s
in dorval
make that
pierre elliott trudeau
airport
catching

a plane or

between flights
and jack goes
to the bar
not a table
like the one
for two i’m
at alone with
mug of beer
and empty
sandwich plate
journalling
while jack gets
a build your own
montréal smoked
meat platter
et un verre
de vin rouge
looking out
over the tarmac
gates and
the endless
movements
of silver birds
international
and domestic

Poems for Jack Layton - memories, thanks, sadness, grief at Canada's loss ...

On August 8th I thought there were no more poems coming for Lipstick Press blog and so I thanked all who had submitted, in effect closing up the project.

Now that Jack Layton has died there is a renewed call for this outpouring of grief.

If you would like to contribute, please send your unpublished work to lipstickpress@shaw.ca with "Poems for Jack Layton" in the subject line. And please confirm that the poem is yours, written by you and is not being considered by another publishing outlet.

Lipstick Press thanks you for your time and your art.

Jack Layton 1950 - 2011

Jack Layton died today, of the cancer that stopped his meteoric rise as leader of the opposition.  Below is a collection of poems of healing thoughts to Jack, submitted by Canadian poets.

I believe Jack was a leader in that sense that he worked for the greater good.  May we pick up the torch and carry his energy, his spirit and vision towards the kind of world he would be fighting for if he were still with us. 

May we find the optimism that Jack had, through our own work for social justice, and may Jack's family be comforted by this shift in Canadian consciousness.