Words have long had the power to survive for centuries.<\/p>\n
Now, Californians in 250 years will be able to enjoy the words of California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick.<\/p>\n
Herrick\u2019s poem, titled \u201cMy California,\u201d was selected by Gov. Gavin Newsom<\/a>\u2019s office as part of the state\u2019s contribution to the official America250<\/a> time capsule.<\/p>\n The capsule, which features contributions from all 50 states, is scheduled to be opened in 250 years — in the year 2276.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m happy and deeply honored to be part of it,\u201d Herrick said. \u201cNever could have imagined it, but happy to be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n America250, the nationwide initiative organized to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, asked all 50 states to contribute to the time capsule.<\/p>\n Among California\u2019s contributions to the capsule\u00a0is Herrick\u2019s poem, which captures the state\u2019s present and promise, a state where immigrants are intertwined and where people enjoy the cities and the coasts, the central valley and wine country.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my California, it’s a place of immigrants, parents, refugees, hard-working families,\u201d Herrick said. “We’re almost 40 million people. And one out of every four is born outside of the United States. I happen to be one of them.”<\/p>\n Herrick\u2019s perspective is deeply rooted in his upbringing in Fresno.<\/p>\n Adopted at 10 months old from South Korea by a white American family, Herrick said he often felt like an outsider growing up.<\/p>\n He wrote the poem when he was 37.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I wrote the poem, it was a turning point for me,\u201d Herrick said. \u201cI started to think, this is my state, too. You know, I’ve lived here all my life since I was adopted, and I have a lot of love for it. And I also have a lot of hope for it.\u201d<\/p>\n By its final stanzas, the poem transitions into a map of what the state could become \u2014 a vision of California led by freedom for all people.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s probably nearly impossible to guess what the country will be like in 2276 when they open this thing, the time capsule,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I love that the arts and poetry are part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, Herrick hopes his inclusion in the historical project will inspire others to find their own voices.<\/p>\n \u201cPoetry is there for you,\u201d Herrick explained, \u201cand I like to think that there are a lot more poets out there, or that there is really poetry in everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy California\u201d by Lee Herrick<\/p>\n Here, an olive votive keeps the sunset lit, graduate school and good pot. A group of four at a window Here, in my California, the streets remember the Chicano and almond trees in partial blossom. Here, in my California you’d know we’d done this before. In Fresno, the bullets In Fresno, we hope for less of the police state and more of a state of grace. like in your California, on the ledge of the pregnant red onions and the good salsa, wine and chapchae. farmer’s markets are twenty four hours a day and the priests eat well, the homeless eat well. everywhere is K-Town, everywhere is Armeniatown, No internment in the Valley. In my California, free sounds and free touch.
the Korean twenty-somethings talk about hyphens,<\/p>\n
table in Carpinteria discuss the quality of wines in Napa Valley versus Lodi.<\/p>\n
poet whose songs still bank off Fresno’s beer soaked gutters<\/p>\n
we fish out long noodles from the pho with such accuracy<\/p>\n
tire of themselves and begin to pray five times a day.<\/p>\n
In my California, you can watch the sun go down<\/p>\n
twenty-second century, the one with a bounty of peaches and grapes,<\/p>\n
Here, in my California, paperbacks are free,<\/p>\n
always packed, the trees and water have no nails in them,<\/p>\n
Here, in my California, everywhere is Chinatown,<\/p>\n
everywhere a Little Italy. Less confederacy.<\/p>\n
Better history texts for the juniors.<\/p>\n
Free questions, free answers.
Free songs from parents and poets, those hopeful bodies of light.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Words have long had the power to survive for centuries. Now, Californians in 250 years will be able…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":382900,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[134928,7,9,8],"class_list":["post-382899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-america250","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=382899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382899\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/382900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=382899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=382899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}