Corners in America, 1968/2025

Linda Vigen Phillips

I am with my friends together and alone 
lost in a sea of bodies, some moving 
dirge-like, the mourned dead in our midst,
some stoked by fire and ire and incinerating mania,
pep-rally fervor confident in a victory.

Across the street a cadre of bell-bottomed,
tie-dyed, pierced and tattooed voices ring out
a cacophony of slogans
Napalm IS Immoral
Make Love Not War.
On the opposite corner splashy posters
speak louder than voices
Jesus Freak, Jesus Freak
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

Waves of terror roll over my body–
racing heart, invading sweat, 
dizzying certainty of impending doom–
not for what I see
but what I don’t see in self.

A swaying pole, a tired tree
roots mired in muck, loosened 
by too many rains ready to fall
at wind’s whim. A raging storm
and I am lost. 

I hope you find what you’re looking for,
my father’s words the day I left for college.

Now wizened and weathered
I know the shackles at Lady Liberty’s feet
are broken. In concert with my 
generation, I say No King, No Cheat.
We the people 
have cornered the con man.  

The Science

For many of us, there is innate tension–defined as mental or emotional strain–in the very act of going off to college. Tense parents about to lose a child to the world. Tense students ready to leave but often very unequipped to leave. Then there is tension when the student settles in, trying to juggle unfamiliar surroundings while cognizant of what’s at stake financially and academically. Trying to reconcile who they are with who they think they are or who they think they should be. Stress and tensions of college life are known to trigger emotional breaks. Young adults, ages 18-25, have the highest prevalence of mental illness due to significant brain development during this time. (National Institute of Mental Health). In the sixties, students were also facing turbulent political times centering on anti-war protests, political assassinations, and social and cultural unrest. Any of these situations could potentially trigger a mental health crisis, resulting in depression, anxiety, or a psychotic break. The American Psychological Association tracks and confirms both the negative and positive effects political news can have on individuals. Unfortunately, today there is a tension in America far worse than anything any of us have ever experienced. Many are finding better mental health by gathering in streets and on corners, carrying signs and shouting slogans.  

The Poet

Linda Vigen Phillips is an award-winning author of two young adult verse novels, Crazy and Behind These Hands, and Thoughts at Crossings, an adult poetry chapbook. Her adult poems have appeared in numerous literary journals including The Texas Review, The California Quarterly, The Christian Century, The Clay Jar, and Please See Me, in which she won the 6th Annual Mental Health Awareness Writing Contest in poetry. She is the co-founder of Charlotte Clubhouse, an internationally proven program serving persons with mental illness. She and her husband live in Savannah, GA. She can be found at www.lindavigenphillips.com.

Next poem: Down Hammett Grove Way by Steven K. Mittwede