Street Corner Majesty

Street Corner Majesty is the name of a wonderful book of poetry by David Harris. Seekers Church has connections to David through several of the missions we support including Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place.

by Sandra Miller

Street Corner Majesty is the name of a wonderful book of poetry by David Harris. I was privileged to attend the event that launched the book on July 13th, 2009 at Church of the Pilgrims here in DC. I know David through his role with the National Coalition for the Homeless Faces of Homelessness Speakers’ Bureau and my position as coordinator of the Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Walkathon Campaign on behalf of Silver Spring Interfaith Housing Coalition. Seekers Church has connections to David through several of the missions we support including Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place.

David works with the many volunteers that come through The Pilgrimage at Church of the Pilgrims facilitating their reflection on their time in the program through poetry. The Pilgrimage program made possible the publication of David’s Street Corner Majesty for which I am very grateful. I find the poems stunningly beautiful, heartbreaking and hopeful. A selection from the book is often the last thing I read before going to bed at night.

Street Corner Majesty tells the story of several years in David’s life as he moved from homelessness to self sufficiency that encompass his experiences with those who mentored his gift and those whom he has mentored. For me, one of the most wonderful things about this book is that it so poignantly illustrates that homelessness bears many faces. It shows that people are not defined by their circumstances, do not fit into the culturally prominent stereotypical image and most importantly are not “the other”; they are you and me.

The title poem from the book is quoted below with the generous permission of the author, David Harris.

Look at her-

she is regal

in her threadbare second-hand coat

and church lady hat

garlanded with bright feathers,

the queen of her street corner.

She sweetly smiles and sings

for harried rush-hour passersby;

a few drop coins,

most glance away,

disgust, guilt, or a twinge of fear

stamped on their hardened faces.

A curious traveler

with a moment to kill

stops to chat, and discovers

she has a tale, a life

beneath the veneer

of city grime

and corrugated skin.

She is a mother;

her children are in places

of wealth and power;

one son’s

precisely surgical hands

bear the power of life and death.

She is an artist;

she paints intricate portraits

of passersby who stop long enough

to be exposed for the camera of her eyes.

She is a lover;

a lonely man’s fantasy

of silk, lace

and kisses raining down on him

like softly brushing feathers.

Twilight gently lands

on her corner of this earth;

she stands and trundles away

her rolling suitcase,

not bound for the alley where she lives

but for Paris in the spring

where she will pluck colorful blossoms

If you would like to read more of David’s work and support him you can purchase Street Corner Majesty locally at The Pilgrimage of Church of the Pilgrims in DC or from the usual on-line sources.