In Fields of Dawn and Forests of the Night

"The field of the poor may yield much food, but it is swept away through injustice."
- Proverbs 13:23-23

for my daughter ida fernandez & my niece marga susi 

who i held & sung to as babies & have morphed into headstrong women

oh vey! what can this old biddy

say when i see

how you two have

risen before my eyes,

moving from states of

being to becoming?

oh, how this woman's heart

swells to legrand & bergman music

each time i see ida 
writing from a

distant country

far from country

family, friends,

writing of her crucial

loving work as teacher

molding young minds

shaping souls

in a host country

so antisepticized

by material wealth

where parents

focused on high-paying jobs

absentmindedly dump

their children in school

at early morn, then pick them up

later than late

as usual

or i hear marga

on the phone

taking instructions

from this aunt

suggesting something better

like a professional 

truly able to distinguish

between work &

blood ties.

oh, dear lord, how this aging

swaying mother/aunt

sees three fourths

of her job

in a world almost

inert from injustice

the graft of the crafty

is done.

go ida widda,

go marga marg

go plow & reap

all the nickels & dimes

of your days

find the rhythm &

the rhymes of your days

& center yourselves

stand tall

on the road of

the righteous

then smash all traditions

all the stupid stupid senselessness

of the blinded arrogant pious

devoid of a soul's riches

go my lovely loves

while i step aside 
as you run

forth to a golden

tomorrow waiting

deep in your

still innocent eyes.

--Babeth Lolarga

Dec. 4, 2012

5:43 a.m.

Title and some lines from the song "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" by Michel Legrand and Alan and Marilyn Bergman 

Undated photo shows child Ida protecting a younger niece with Marga beside them.