Hate Poem by James Stephens

Hate

Rating: 3.0


My enemy came nigh,
And I
Stared fiercely in his face.
My lips went writhing back in a grimace,
And stern I watched him with a narrow eye.
Then, as I turned away, my enemy,
That bitter heart and savage, said to me:
"Some day, when this is past,
When all the arrows that we have are cast,
We may ask one another why we hate,
And fail to find a story to relate.
It may seem then to us a mystery
That we should hate each other."

Thus said he,
And did not turn away,
Waiting to hear what I might have to say,
But I fled quickly, fearing had I stayed
I might have kissed him as I would a maid.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Joe Hughes 27 June 2022

I love the humanity and inclusive attitude so well described here by Stephens.

0 0 Reply
sanuthi 05 June 2019

i like this voice and a very funny poem. i like it

2 0 Reply
Anna C 10 January 2018

lol this is a funny poem.

8 2 Reply
Stephen W 29 July 2014

Don't like this much. People know why they hate their enemies.

3 13 Reply
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