What Do We Do
Claire Scott

What do we do
with all these tears
the rising waters
a girl with one leg
and a rickety crutch
standing in roofless ruins
a barefoot boy with black-
blistered feet, stumbling
across the Darién Gap
a diabetic mother
shuddering in the street
a schizophrenic man
preaching salvation
while people look away

What do we do with all these tears
mine and yours and yours and yours
imagine a hand-cut crystal bowl
filled with soft tears
imagine holding hands, a palette of colors
chanting prayers to Buddha, to Moses
to Muhammed, to Jesus and Vishnu
and don’t forget Thor and Apollo, Shiva and Odin
imagine sitting together, listening to rain
sliver-slant the roof, the keen call
of crickets, the pulsing rap of a radio
the click of a walker, a conversation in Tagalog
laughter rising, each of us taking turns
drinking salty water from the crystal bowl


—First place in Massachusetts State Poetry Society’s 2024 Naomi Cherkofsky Memorial Contest

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Claire Scott’s Comments

“What Do We Do” is a more serious poem posing existential questions. For me, community eases suffering whether it is personal or universal. I like the image of holding hands and drinking tears.

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