August 17,2005 Poem by Max Reif
August 17,2005
Today they're pulling the settlers out of Gaza,
people whose strong beliefs in their Destiny
won't stop the bulldozers now at their front doors,
and a 23 year-old copy editor at the CHRONICLE
has cancer that's spread to her brain a little.
She writes about her struggle on the front page.
11,000 people have applied for 400 jobs
at a new Wal-Mart in Oakland;
Down in Texas the lady
who lost her son in the war
is still trying to meet with the President.
He met with her last June, but called her 'mom'
all the way through the interview,
I wouldn't like that either.
The pain of the day's news
is almost too much to bear
as I sip my coffee, try to find room
for the world in my heart,
and wonder how long my own life
will keep flowing along like a peaceful river.
Max...I haven't been reading much here (Or anywhere) but this is great stuff. I have to admit when I read the first stanza I thought...this isn't for me...I am so glad I kept reading. You have a way of putting stuff down that is personal yet universal....Great stuff...this is not a surprise. I think you're the real thing!
Max, Who's attempting their hand at comedy by giving this a 1. I didn't find any major flaws therein.
I think the last lines were wonderful. I often wonder the same thing. It's hard to imagine you can be happy and have a great life while so much unhappiness and senseless misery is going on around you. Sincerely, Mary
I consider this an interesting way to 'build' a poem. Of all the thousands of news events, you chose these few stories to discourage yourself. The last lines do turn this into a poem, in my opinion. Perhaps the only way for your heart to keep 'flowing like a peaceful river' is when you start looking for reasons to be peaceful. I like this poem. Wonder what it would be like if you found four upbeat stories and wrote about them? Raynette
This is an excellent poem and a perfect ending. Congratulations
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/19/2024 8:24:28 AM # 1.0.0.1119
Bravo, Max - in my hyperbolic praise of this poem: this touched me superbly.