Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


NO MATTER by SCUDDER MIDDLETON

First Line: TONIGHT IT MATTERS NOT TO ME
Last Line: AND I AM HERE WITHOUT A WORLD.
Subject(s): INDIFFERENCE; RACISM; RACIAL PREJUDICE; BIGOTRY;

Tonight it matters not to me
Whether you be black or red,
Gregarious as the honey bee,
Or strong as water chased by wind
Or independent as a tree,
Or weak as cotton thread --
Stay here, is all I ask of you.
Sit down beside me, share my glass,
Talk gibberish or argue fine,
Draw Rahab on the table-cloth,
Or Euclid's non-existent line,
Or guess the ways of auk and moth,
Or brag about your wheels and gold,
Or sigh for beauty under mold,
Or hawk the secrets of a friend,
Touch my hand, or look away --
I care not what you do or say!
Tonight all values shift and blend,
And I am here without a world.



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