[1383] Untitled
To my granddaughters who visited the Holocaust Museum
on the day of the burial of Yitzak Rabin, November 6th 1995.
Now you know the worst
we humans have to know
about ourselves, and I am sorry,
for I know you will be afraid.
To those of our bodies given
without pity to be burned, I know
there is no answer
but loving one another
even our enemies, and this is hard.
But remember:
when a man of war becomes a man of peace,
he gives a light, divine
though it is also human.
When a man of peace is killed
by a man of war, he gives a light.
You do not have to walk in darkness.
If you have the courage for love,
you may walk in light. It will be
the light of those who have suffered
for peace. It will be
your light.
-- Wendell Berry
|
from: A Timbered Choir, The Sabbath Poems 1979-1997
I should probably be sitting on my hands having already submitted a poem to
you recently but I discovered this was not on your site. It has been
pinned to the bulletin board next to my desk for quite a while. I was
tracking down a poem by Denise Levertov which I found on minstrels. I
then wondered if Mr. Berry made an appearance and discovered he did not nor
could I find this poem anywhere on the internet. With all that has
happened since his death, Rabin's life and death are even more significant.
And more tragic. The 8th anniversary of his death approaches and the
poem's sentiment could not be more timely.
Being a military veteran (retired, full career) and a pacifist contains
some inherent conflicts and guilt. I've Berry's poem by my desk for a year
now and still nearly weep every time I read the first four lines. This
poem speaks to me in all of the ways that give me hope. Hope in times like
these when the cry of havock calls forth in my name, in all of our names.
Hope when I feel so helpless to effect any change. And Hope that my
actions in the second half of my life wiill create a light to burn after
me. That my children and theirs can see just a little further in the
darkness and make their contribution to the advancement of civilization.
Bill Schubert
Biography:
http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?prmID=692
http://www.heureka.clara.net/art/berry.htm
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From: Alan S Kornheiser <akornhis@>
I have been having a running argument...in my head, not in person...with Mr
Berry for years. I own all his nonfiction and have read most of his poetry
(including the juvenilia, about which the less said the better, but no
matter). Yet I argue with him, because even when he is right...which is
often...there is an odd smugness about his being right that makes me want to
throw him against a wall.
Mr Berry is, after all, a tobacco farmer...or was one, once. It is hard to
take a tobacco farmer seriously when he writes about human morality.
Mr Berry famously has refused to use a computer, preferring to let his wife
type his work. Skipping over the "wife" part (she apparently enjoys the
task, and who am I to second guess anyone else's marriage?), the Luddite
self-righteousness of this claim permeates his work.
And yet. And yet. This is a man who knows that the only true pleasures are
the pleasures we build with our own sweat, who can do the math to show the
value of traditional farming, who truly at a gut level knows what things
cost. And he writes good poetry. So I guess I continue to buy the damn books
and threaten to throw them at the cat, and then carefully put them back on
the shelf to be re-read.
It's good to see him added to our list. Let everyone who likes the poems go
out and read the essays. And the fiction. Just skip the early poems.
Alan Kornheiser
--Boundary_(ID_ghtoesHFygaNYbtydl8Yig)
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<DIV><SPAN class=840061821-13112003><FONT face=Garamond>I have been having a
running argument...in my head, not in person...with Mr Berry for years. I own
all his nonfiction and have read most of his poetry (including the juvenilia,
about which the less said the better, but no matter). Yet I argue with him,
because even when he is right...which is often...there is an odd smugness about
his being right that makes me want to throw him against a
wall.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=840061821-13112003><FONT
face=Garamond></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=840061821-13112003><FONT face=Garamond>Mr Berry is, after all,
a tobacco farmer...or was one, once. It is hard to take a tobacco farmer
seriously when he writes about human morality.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=840061821-13112003><FONT
face=Garamond></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=840061821-13112003><FONT face=Garamond>Mr Berry famously has
refused to use a computer, preferring to let his wife type his work. Skipping
over the "wife" part (she apparently enjoys the task, and who am I to second
guess anyone else's marriage?), the Luddite self-righteousness of this claim
permeates his work.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=840061821-13112003><FONT
face=Garamond></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=840061821-13112003><FONT face=Garamond>And yet. And yet. This
is a man who knows that the only true pleasures are the pleasures we build with
our own sweat, who can do the math to show the value of traditional farming, who
truly at a gut level knows what things cost. And he writes good poetry. So I
guess I continue to buy the damn books and threaten to throw them at the cat,
and then carefully put them back on the shelf to be re-read.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=840061821-13112003><FONT
face=Garamond></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=840061821-13112003><FONT face=Garamond>It's good to see
him added to our list. Let everyone who likes the poems go out and read the
essays. And the fiction. Just skip the early poems.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=840061821-13112003><FONT
face=Garamond></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=840061821-13112003><FONT face=Garamond>Alan
Kornheiser</FONT></SPAN></DIV></BODY></HTML>
--Boundary_(ID_ghtoesHFygaNYbtydl8Yig)--