It will last forever - poem

May 2010

Last Forever by Wendy Bartlett

If you imagine that it will
Last forever
You are so mistaken
If you see only his face
His smile, his life
As a solution
Welcome to your new problems!
A person stands not alone
But on top of his family’s history
On top of stories
Of migration, immigration, prison,
A religion fleeing persecution
A while pressure on the backs of a nation,
Like the Indian Nations
Like the holocaust survivors
Like the politically persecuted
Or like the religiously shunned
The smile shows all the teeth
Or half the teeth, or
No teeth at all
A closed mouth
And in that smile and the cock of the head
You are welcomed into his past
Which with one kiss
You are invited to hold up his story
Witness his agony in his words
Nod and cry and make a fist
And then, you are invited
To kiss his brow



Again I sit with my four writers
Before which we have
Sorted the British election
The Orinda school prejudice
The holocaust, of course,
And the pros and cons of
Black solidarity against whites
And I didn’t speak
But I was there, listening,
And wondering why don’t I talk
Why do I listen quietly?
Where is my anger, my energy?
Don’t I care about the
Blackened sea turtles in the Gulf
Or the people lining up for their
Last Louisiana fish dinner
Or the Taliban in the SUV bomb
Or Haiti
Let’s bow our heads
Their misery continues like
A familiar friend
Is my mouth just ajar
As the news and views pour
Into my head
My bowed head now
Of course, I care,
But I wonder
Were we meant, with our large brains
To process this vast weight
Of negative information
Can I please just sit back
And notice the flowers
The sunny spring day
The classical music playing?
For yes, the impoverished
Still dance with gusto
And sing and drum
And go on
Or, yes,
They do not.