Like a square-legged spider stands a steel tower
rigged with one hundred forty bells.
Ocean air rises, falls, breaks like waves
ringing chimes above Bodega Bay.
Nicholas Green from this small town
at age seven was killed in far-off Italy
by highway robbers. His donated organs
gave new life for seven Italian souls.
From that country in gratitude, in sorrow
these bells etched with seven names.
Bells peal of hope.
In search of a more merciful world
we come, sit, listen.
Children come, do not sit, do not listen.
Children make offerings, a kite, a plastic airplane.
To the branches of a nearby pine
children tie handmade mobiles
marked with the names of dead siblings,
dead friends, shot schoolmates.
Here’s a string of origami hummingbirds,
and here among fog-damp needles
toy matchbox cars on fishline
are dancing in the breeze. Dancing.
.....
First published in Califragile. Thank you Wren Tuatha, editor.
photo by Angus Parker
Nicholas Green (September 9, 1987 – October 1, 1994) was an American boy who was shot and killed in an attempted car robbery while vacationing with his family in Southern Italy. Robbers mistook their family car for a jeweler's. When Nicholas died, his parents chose to donate his organs. Five people received his major organs, and two received a cornea transplant. The incident is credited with generating a significant increase in the rate of organ donation in Italy.
—Wikipedia
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