I was there for a concert with my husband – to see Atlanta Rhythm Section at The Capitol Theatre in downtown Macon, Georgia, when I saw the landmark plaque on the historic bricks back in January. From Guale, the Marshes of Glynn to Lake Lanier and beyond, so much of Georgia History is steeped in the words of Sidney Lanier. I took a picture and turned to William Carlos Williams for the inspiration today in a borrowed line poem.
Saluting Sidney Lanier
so much in Georgia depends
upon
a Macon-born poet illuminating
waterways
glazed with flute music
lyrics
from the bricks of downtown
birth-town
to the marshes of
Glynn
to Lake
Lanier
and
beyond


Kim,
When I saw the name of a poet on the plaque and featured in your poem, I set out to learn more. Specifically, I wanted to know when Lanier lived and if he enslaved anyone. I did discover he was in the Confederate army and became known as “the poet of the Confederacy.” I did not read anything about slavery, other than his war experience. Most fascinating: He wrote a book about the connection between poetry and music and their similar metrical structures I read one poem about marriage but haven’t read any of the nature poems yet. Your poem makes me curious about those, and I love the turns you take a “the red wheelbarrow.”
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