Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ON BEING ASKED TO WRITE A POEM AGAINST THE WAR IN VIETNAM, by HAYDEN CARRUTH



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ON BEING ASKED TO WRITE A POEM AGAINST THE WAR IN VIETNAM, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Well I have and in fact
Last Line: To make sure I was noticing
Variant Title(s): A Poem Of Difficult Hope
Subject(s): Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975


Well I have and in fact
more than one and I'll
tell you this too

I wrote one against
Algeria that nightmare
and another against

Korea and another
against the one
I was in

and I don't remember
how many against
the three

when I was a boy
Abyssinia Spain and
Harlan County

and not one
breath was restored
to one

shattered throat
mans womans or childs
not one not

one
but death went on and on
never looking aside

except now and then like a child
with a furtive half-smile
to make sure I was noticing.


Used with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, P.O. Box 271, Port Townsend, WA
98368-0271, www.cc.press.org




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