We are stronger than bombs, more
determined than the Taliban, as
sisters and daughters we stand
together under falling bricks and
plaster, our bodies and our will
are iron, we do not bend.
Malala’s heart is ours, she gives
face and voice to our struggle, we are
resolute in the face of hatred
from desert sands to snow-topped mountain
all hearts beating as one.
_____________________________________
More street art photos can be seen on my Flickr set “NOLA Street Art”.
Charlotte Hamrick 
..beautiful face and poem speaking for many who don’t have a voice..bravo!
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nice…love your message of unity in cause…what a sad tale as well of malala…the street art you chose is awesome….her rising up out of the city…or the spirit over it…plays well with your words…
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A powerful write here – got deep into my soul, surprisingly feel quite emotional…
Very powerful.
Anna :o]
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very cool…love the artwork and love the poem as well…great message…so encouraging
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Unity is definitely the key in fighting oppression and tyranny…felt.
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A potent combination, Malala is my vote for the Nobel Peace Prize. You got me all teared up!
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Thanks, all. Good street art (as opposed to tagging) has been a passion of mine for several years. I often travel the city photographing it and have many photos of art that has long since been cleaned off.
Swoon is one of my favorites because her subject matter is often women and she strives to empower with her art. She also only does wheat paste work, showing respect for the buildings she adorns. With so many old, historic buildings here, that’s quite important.
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A very important message in an impressive poem together with this meaningful graffito. I love them all.
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That’s an important part of both poetry and street art – we give voices to people who are all too often unheard. Powerful image, owerful poem, powerful message.
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Charlotte Ma’am,
Appended below is my response for your gracious visit to my blog. I took the liberty to extend a copy here just in case you don’t make a revisit.
“Thanks Chalotte, for the link. Been to see the flickr set. It’s great that the NOLA rising art took off. All of the same size and medium. It was a joy to see all the end result. It was also a way of venting so much frustrations. I understand there was an administ’ve standstill for many days at various locations. It’s all in the past now!
I have a soft spot for N Orleans. I remember being there during the 1984 World’s Fair. The city had the typical latin facade in almost all of its buildings. I guess most of them must have been affected by Katrina. I remember the World’ Fair site was along a river with the big arch spanning from both banks. Don’t recall much now except for the fact that I tasted my first ever bowls of boiled crayfish then. It appeared awkward to discard a large portion(comprising the head and the big claw) in the course of taking them. Thanks for the memories!
Hank “
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Thanks for coming over and adding your comments here! You happened to catch me while I was onsite. Yes, the fair was great fun. Most of it was torn down after it was over but what is now the Morial Convention Center occupies much of its site along the river. You should come back on vacay – there’s always something going on and you’ll never, ever get bored. 🙂
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Yeah, there are many graffiti artists who are unknown and prefer to stay unknown – it’s a big part of the mystique. In reading some of the other poet’s participating in this exercise I noticed many mentioned Banksy who is so well-known now that many consider him a sell-out to the genre with his work going for thousands and we’re fairly certain of who he actually is now.
Anyone with a more than passing interest in street art should check out Vandalog for up to date information on street artists & art. I’m happy to say a couple of my Swoon photos were published there a couple of years ago.(link: http://blog.vandalog.com/2011/07/swoons-latest-project-a-musical-building/)
Here’s a link to a very interesting piece wondering if the genre is slowly becoming extinct:
http://blog.vandalog.com/2013/02/staying-elusive-in-the-streets/
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here to drop off a package…of inspiration and creativity…smiles…hope you have a wonderful day…
b
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Aw thanks, Brian.
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