Fundamentalism by Naomi Shihab Nye

3. June 2009, 18:26 Uhrnaomi shihab nyerinabeana

I just realized that it’s been quite a while since I posted a poem from NSN.

Fundamentalism
By Naomi Shihab Nye

Because the eye has a short shadow or
it is hard to see over heads in the crowd?

If everyone else seems smarter
but you need your own secret?

If mystery was never your friend?

If one way could satisfy
the infinite heart of the heavens?

If you liked the king on his golden throne
more than the villagers carrying baskets of lemons?

If you wanted to be sure
his guards would admit you to the party?

     The boy with the broken pencil
     scrapes his little knife against the lead
     turning and turning it as a point
     emerges from the wood again

     If he would believe his life is like that
     he would not follow his father into war

2 comments:

  1. emerson, 3. June 2009, 19:28

    I like this, it’s not my favorite but it is nice.
    Suggestion: The songs from Les Miserables work quite nicely as poems, especially I Dreamed A Dream. Did you hear Susan Boyle sing it? I got goosebumps!

     
  2. Philip, 4. June 2009, 1:09

    Very powerful and thought-provoking, thanks for posting this.

     

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