We got used to the surprises until there were none left
and we had to breed them in captivity
~Robert Wood Lynn
Happy Poetry Friday! I'm sharing a poem by Robert Wood Lynn. He's from my neck of the woods (and wrote About the Phones partially about my hometown-- a poem that I love/breaks my heart into wee pieces). But today's poem is On Wednesday They Came on the News.
On Wednesday They Came on the News
by Robert Lynn
to finally admit that the planet is burning up.
All the ice has broken and as a result
there are no such things as strangers anymore.
Or polar bears, but that’s not the point.
All the ice has broken and now there are
no strangers. Now there is no such thing as
polite silence in an elevator. Now you say hello
to every single person on the street as you
swim past. Sure, this means we are all going
to die—that was always going to happen—
but more importantly there is no ice left to break.
The planet has doffed its polar caps to us
like a gentleman in a silent movie and suddenly
we do the same to everyone that gets on the bus,
only louder, and tell them our favorite jokes,
read the rest here
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Karen Edmisten has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Karen!
14 comments:
Oh, I do so love your neck of the woods. And, this poem...such a folksy remembrance but full of the information our world is ignoring. It's kind of jarring...in a very real way. Thank you for this. I can't wait to see Heidi's comments/
So, the "other' poem, too, is enough to make me want to throw something, to wonder, as I do, why anyone wouldn't want to try to make the world safer? And so, then, I read this one, Tabatha, and I both love and hate his strong voice, taking time to ponder if that's all we people plan to do, be friendlier? As you do every time, thanks for sharing poems that make us think harder.
I don't know, Linda, if I could say that seeing other humans as fellow travelers is "all we plan to do" in a bad way. Can you go to war against someone you've told jokes to on the bus? (Sadly, maybe we can.) Food for thought, for sure.
Oh wow, my heart. that is all.
This is terrifying. I find the climate situation paralyzing. Robert Lynn's poem brought it home again. Plus, any picture of a polar bears sends a knife through my heart. How do we move forward?
Both of those poems, this one and "About the Phones" just shatter me - I wasn't familiar with this poet. Thank you for sharing this voice. Much to ponder and find our way out of. Oof.
Wow. Both poems pack a punch, Tabatha. Thank you for sharing these.
OH MY GOD I love that poem so so so so much, for reasons which you know and reasons you can imagine for a reasons of its casual genius--I need to let my brain OUT of its ruts!
Off to read more.
Tabatha, I'm agreeing with Linda M. on your "neck of the woods" Wow. What a poet. So stark and real. The phone poem was heartbreaking, and this ice melting poem heating up the world is so powerful. Thank you for sharing.
Tabatha, thank you for introducing me to Robert Wood Lynn. I found They Came On The News On Wednesday poem most engaging. The effective use of repetition and the wonderful wordplay drew me in. His writing, for me is remeniscent of Billy Collins. The topic while dark and concerning, is deftly handled as to not interfere with delivery of a dose of realism. The first poem was so clever in its construction. A few words with maximum impact. I am keen to discover more of his work.
Whoa, sounds like our world especially the lack of filters–his repetitions work well and so does the form, thanks Tabatha.
Wow, both poems basically gutted me, Tabatha. Thanks for introducing me to Robert Wood Lynn. xo
Powerful poems, Tabatha. Thank you for sharing. I can see how they break your heart into wee pieces.
The poem made me think of how melting ice provokes mass migration. The tone of the poem is actually amusing and maybe a way to write about the predicament we’re in all together. Great poem.
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