~Jimmy Carter
Thinking about Jimmy Carter this Poetry Friday. He was such a genuinely moral man, a true inspiration.
Two of his quotes to live by: "We have an ethical obligation, I think, to prevent suffering wherever we can."
"In our democracy, the only title higher and more powerful than that of president is the title of citizen. It is every citizen’s right and duty to help shape the future legacy of our nation."
ALWAYS A POEM, JIMMY
by Indran Amirthanayagam
The melanoma spread from
skin to liver to brain and
President Jimmy Carter
started to fall often, walking
in the peanut field, at church
on Sunday, at home. He wrote
Always A Reckoning. I wrote
The Elephants of Reckoning.
We exchanged our reckonings
in 1997 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
I was assigned to the American
Embassy and sat down with Jimmy,
Rosalynn and Chip to talk
politics, health and environment.
The President visited to gather
facts in his fight against
read the rest here
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Another quote to think about, from Jimmy Carter at his inauguration:
"In this outward and physical ceremony we attest once again to the inner and spiritual strength of our nation. As my high school teacher, Miss Julia Coleman, used to say: 'We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.'"
(A nod of appreciation for giving a shout-out to his teacher :))
***********
Another Year of Reading has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Mary Lee!
12 comments:
I love this -- thanks for sharing it!
Hi Tabatha, I like the shout-out to his teacher too, thanks for sharing all!
Thank you for this. Jimmy Carter was among the best of the best...and if it is within your belief system, he still is.
It's a beautiful poem that I would not know except for you, Tabatha. Thank you. In reading so much about him these recent days, I did see that he had accomplished so much to eradicate river blindness. His work was so far-reaching!
This is such a thoughtful post-- thank you! I may come up with a brave poem for you. Are you looking for kid-friendly poems, or does this project skew towards an intended audience of grownups?
Poems for kids or adults! Everybody needs a bit of courage.
I was blessed to visit the Carter Presidential Library for his 100th birthday celebration. His legacy outlives him -- humbly, a live well-lived.
He also read and wrote haiku! Am thinking on the BRAVE poem
Oooh, look at your beautiful brave bird logo! I'm so grateful to Jimmy--I feel like he held on just to let go now, right when we needed to spend time reconsidering all his wisdom, gathering all his fortitude around us, faithing forward. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Tabatha, for these lovely JC moments and the reminder about your BRAVE project. xo
Thank you for this lovely tribute to such a gentle and brave man, Tabatha.
He was such a genuinely good, solid, and decent man, and I'm so glad he held on as long as he did. May he rest in peace. Thanks for this, Tabatha.
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