The second performance of Shade In A Parched Land is scheduled for February 23 at 4pm at Como Park Lutheran Church located at 1376 Hoyt Avenue West in St. Paul.

The piece is for organ, African percussion instruments and spoken poems, on a African theme. The arc of the piece in 5 movements is the emotional experience of an American educator/technician, from know-it-all to a realization that the one being helped is himself, working at a school for orphans and very poor children in rural Kenya. All are invited. Free-will offerings accepted. This event will last approximately one hour.

Below is one of the poems that will be included in the performance. 

Building A Classroom In Rural Kenya

Would you rather be
The mattock that disturbs
Dirt and clay,
Asleep in the ground
These many years,
Or the shovel that removes
Dirt and clods of clay
And creates a thing
Known for its absence – a hole?
Would you rather be
The brick that, with help from its brothers,
Defines the brick wall,
Or the mortar that binds brothers together
To make the strong wall?
In America, machines
Build everything.
Gian claws rip the ground
And trucks pour
Concrete for the foundation.
But in Kenya,
People are the machines.
They dig foundations
And build walls.
In Kenya,
The classroom
Is made of bricks and mortar,
And sweat and tears,
And hope.
So, you choose.
Would you rather be
The hammer that directs
The nail into its proper place,
Or the nail that holds
Things together
Long after the hammer
Lies asleep in the tool shed.