Another Poem
On Being Asked To Write A Poem Against The War In Vietnam
by Hayden Carruth
Well I have and in fact
more than one and I'll
tell you this too
I wrote one against
Algeria that nightmare
and another against
Korea and another
against the one
I was in
and I don't remember
how many against
the three
when I was a boy
Abyssinia Spain and
Harlan County
and not one
breath was restored
to one
shattered throat
mans womans or childs
not one not
one
but death went on and on
never looking aside
except now and then
with a furtive half-smile
to make sure I was noticing.
posted by Presley Bennett @ 3/05/2005
6 comments
6 Comments:
Interesting poem. It makes you wonder... is putting pen to paper in protest an exercise in futility?
Sure, there were poems and songs protesting Vietnam, and sure, we eventually pulled out... but one would have to think that it would have happened anyway, given the manner of our withdrawal. So it begs the question: Was a single life saved by war protest?
If not, was the protest still worthwhile?
Is there any reason to protest when you know that your outcry will not be heeded at all?
OK, so it only begged one question. The others just kinda felt left out.
I thought the same thing, is writing only worthwhile if it achieves a tangible result. Or is it enough to be on record, whatever the effect might be. I really like the end of this poem, great imagery.
I suppose that you can only really say that writing isn't worthwhile if you know for a fact that it won't have a tangible effect. And even that's given the assumption that going on the record isn't reason enough, which I don't think I buy, because the same arguement could apply to going to the polls in any state other than the swing states. And yes, the imagery is rather striking.
I've often wondered about this myself. While it's great to find an issue that you really want to speak out about, and it's great to find that there are other people who agree, I can't help but think that sometimes the ultimate effect of such discussions and protests is that the protesters feel better about themselves. Perhaps this isn't a bad thing? After all, part of democracy is about letting everyone have a voice, isn't it?
Maybe protest is useful for no other reason than to get ideas and opinions into the public forum, where they can evolve and merge with other ideas and opinions. Perhaps a butterfly effect?
Just thinking aloud here. :)
Sometimes it has to be enough just to voice your opinion even if nothing changes because of it, otherwise all of us bloggers are going to have a whole lot of empty time on our hands. And maybe it's enough just to know where you stand for your own sake even if no one else cares or agrees.
Yeah, I'd certainly say that there's something to be said for protest for the protester's sake, and I've often found that I understand my own stance better after I commit it to paper (or hypertext) That being said, I'd also submit that the off chance of expression actually making a difference is reason enough to speak out. What do you have to lose except a few minutes of your time that you probably weren't going to use anyway?
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