A Poet's Truth

mikeschultz Thu Mar 08 2012, 08:59

I too, now shake my head
and wonder at the evils done in the name of god; and
like Appleman, I've seen "the faces of
chronic hunger," clothed in the "dirty shrouds
of death." I, too, have looked into the "eyes
of fanaticism," and there saw the "victims
of ideological warfare, ... shards
of ruinous overpopulation."
An old woman holds a child whose open,
running sores, and piteous cries tear at
my heart; and like so many others

I fill her outstretched palm with coins that
ease my mind, but never heal the hurt of
one who will die too young; and she, too old for tears.

I fear my words will not be heard, or worse - that they will.
Yet, I fear the silence most, my constant companion, that
condemns commonplace acceptance
of atrocities and the many
desecrations that cloud my mind
like the close embracings of jungle nights.
I've seen this pain, and so much more
I wonder - how could I write poems
Of trivialities and still
Know nights of peaceful sleep? How can
I live and write the middle-line –
sedate, secure, and so silent?
Truth, a Poet's Truth, my resurrection,
To live, to write and escape the jungle.

Michael Schultz © July 15, 1993

BC Williams Thu Mar 08 2012, 12:31

1974 - Coban, Guatemala . . .

I remember little huts with cardboard walls -
tattered children bare foot scampering, while
a smile-less mother welding a banana leaf band aid
rushes to close a child's palm from a machete mistake.
I remember their two class world, where rich
thirteen-year-olds flaunt wads and poor
folks work all-day-long for pocketed jingles.

And in my sixteenth year, I was floored with my reality:
that I need not look far, some other's plight
might just be a hell I had never dreamed possible.

Mike, it's humbling to see what some folks can endure. It takes real courage not to look away, to be challenged by the proposition of looking into the face of extreme adversity.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. We can only learn to care by taking that step to look . . ..

bev

Lucie Sat Apr 21 2012, 01:01

heart wrenching thoughts......

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