We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers.
~Martin Luther King Jr.
Two poems by James Kirkup today.
No Men Are Foreign
by James Kirkup
Remember, no men are strange, no countries foreign
Beneath all uniforms, a single body breathes
Like ours: the land our brothers walk upon
Is earth like this, in which we all shall lie.
They, too, aware of sun and air and water,
Are fed by peaceful harvests, by war’s long winter starv’d.
Their hands are ours, and in their lines we read
A labour not different from our own.
Remember they have eyes like ours that wake
Or sleep, and strength that can be won
By love. In every land is common life
That all can recognise and understand.
Let us remember, whenever we are told
To hate our brothers, it is ourselves
That we shall dispossess, betray, condemn.
Remember, we who take arms against each other
It is the human earth that we defile.
Our hells of fire and dust outrage the innocence
Of air that is everywhere our own,
Remember, no men are foreign, and no countries strange.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Poet
by James Kirkup
Each instant of his life a task, he never rests,
And works most when he appears to be doing nothing.
The least of it is putting down in words
What usually remains unwritten and unspoken,
And would so often be much better left
Unsaid, for it is really the unspeakable
That he must try to give an ordinary tongue to.
And if, by art and accident,
He utters the unutterable, then
It must appear as natural as breath,
Yet be an inspiration. And he must go,
The lonelier for his unwanted miracle,
His singular way, a gentle lunatic at large
In the societies of cross and reasonable men.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's your weekly reminder to submit to the mistakes anthology for middle schoolers!
Also, all you Teachers, Librarians, and Stealthy Do-gooders, you might like to see the Take One posters from this week's Wellness Wednesday post. I made a literary one to go with the others I found.
Writing the World for Kids has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Laura!
15 comments:
Would wish that we might have more of Kirkup and others like him who follows their own words: "And he must go, /The lonelier for his unwanted miracle/His singular way," though sad it must often be of the unspeakable. Thanks, Tabatha!
Kirkup's second poem stirs me, his line:
"for it is really the unspeakable
That he must try to give an ordinary tongue to."
But the unspeakable must be both natural and and inspiration and be a
"gentle lunatic at large
In the societies of cross and reasonable men."
So much described of society in so few words. This poem reminds me of a poem by CAConrad, EATING BOTH SIDES OF WHAT IS LEFT, that was discussed at a Poetry Foundation workshop I attended last night. Thanks Tabatha.
The poet as a gentle lunatic.... Yes, I can see that. Or a prescient recluse. Or one constantly intoxicated by life. These are such grave and measured lines. He must have been a very serious person.
Thanks for sharing these. Kirkup is new to me. The first poem is timely and speaks to our common humanity -- a fact too many, unfortunately, cannot seem to grasp.
Poets are indeed "gentle lunatics" -- so true "lonelier for his unwanted miracle."
Oh, wow - thank you for sharing these new-to-me poems, Tabatha. I was caught as well by the "gentle lunatic" lines, and by "Like ours: the land our brothers walk upon/
Is earth like this, in which we all shall lie." Amen.
Oh, how heart-achingly timely these are.
I'm trying to decide which of these two poems I like better, and I just can't. Both speak to me. We do need to "remember no men are foreign and no country strange." Some days, I can most definitely relate to "a gentle lunatic at large/in the societies of cross and reasonable men."
I love the Take One posters. I am SOOoo going to make some!
And your pair of poems inspires me. This happened--one of my Atlas-Loving Girls lugged hers up to me yesterday and told me that she had learned (In another of those densely written articles) that humans are all one species, called homo sapiens. Yes, darling girl, there is ONE race: the human race. And I should write a poem about it!
There's so much to love in this post! From beginning quote to two powerful poems and those wonderful Take One posters. Wow! I especially love the first poem. "Remember, no men are foreign, and no countries strange."
Holy wow. These two poems are so different, and I love them both. (Did you put that first one in the Peace Padlet?) I love "as natural as breath." Thanks for sharing...
I agree with, Laura. Both so different yet both have an undertone of peace in my opinion. Thanks for sharing, Tabatha!
for it is really the unspeakable
That he must try to give an ordinary tongue to.
What a task a poet undertakes when so much is currently unspeakable.
I should always save your post for last, Tabatha, because invariably a full hour later I return to comment with echoes of Kirkup's centurion, hedgehog distribution maps, plans for my own staff bathroom TAKE ONE poster and music ringing in my mind, having run out of time to comment elsewhere before church. :) Thanks as always, Tabatha. You are my modern Ben Franklin.
I understand why you couldn't choose one or the other of the Kirkup poems. I believe that first one might even work for 2nd grade, if James would allow me to replace "men" with other more inclusive words...
With whom/for what publisher are you editing the Mistakes Anthology?
My interpretation of "unspeakable" was less about that which is horrifying and more about that which we struggle to find words for, things intimate to the heart. Maybe I'm just being "glass half full"?
Heidi, I appreciate the Ben Franklin comparison! :-) I'm sorry that I can't point you to a publisher who is eagerly awaiting poetry collections, but I am the one spearheading the publication of this anthology myself. It is dear to my heart, and I was inspired by the other Poetry Friday folks who have taken publishing into their own hands.
Oh, that first poem....that's a keeper. Under all uniforms one body breathes. I wish that poem were recited each day as we all got up to do our business. It's so true. Thank you for sharing this poem and this poet. I want to know more of his work. Your pairing of the King quote is superb.
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