"Pity the Nation"--------------pass gently, Lawrence
Pity the nation whose people are sheep,
and whose shepherds mislead them.
Pity the nation whose leaders are liars, whose sages are silenced,
and whose bigots haunt the airwaves.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice,
except to praise conquerors and acclaim the bully as hero
and aims to rule the world with force and by torture.
Pity the nation that knows no other language but its own
and no other culture but its own.
Pity the nation whose breath is money
and sleeps the sleep of the too well fed.
Pity the nation — oh, pity the people who allow their rights to erode
and their freedoms to be washed away.
My country, tears of thee, sweet land of liberty.”
--- by LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI
This seems appropriate reading for several reasons.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Where have I been all these years? Thanks for posting, Atticus.
for this.
I had never heard of Lawrence Ferlinghetti or the poem - says so very much.
Last edited Tue Feb 23, 2021, 08:48 PM - Edit history (1)
RIP Gentle Soul. You always gave, and seldom took. We are better because of you. Say hello to Jack and Philip .. and Allen and all the rest of the cats. Snyder still maintains, at 91, and the Beat goes on.
"Pity the Republicans"*
Pity the Republicans whose people are sheep,
and whose shepherds mislead them.
Pity the Republicans whose leaders are liars, whose sages are silenced,
and whose bigots haunt the airwaves.
Pity the Republican that raises not her/his voice,
except to praise conquerors and acclaim the bully as hero
and aims to rule the world with force and by torture.
Pity the Republicans that know no other language but their own
and no other culture but their own.
Pity the Republicans whose breath is money
and sleeps the sleep of the too well fed.
Pity the Republicans — oh, pity the people who allow their rights to erode
and their freedoms to be washed away.
My country, tears of thee, sweet land of liberty.”
* With due credit to Lawrence Ferlinghetti
---------------
Thanks for posting this work, Atticus. It speaks volumes to the divided condition of our nation today in just a few lines of prose.
For those who want to know more about Mr. Ferlinghetti, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Ferlinghetti
He was 101 years old at his passing, RIP...... Truly a quiet hero of America.
KY..........
During World War 2, he commanded sub chasers for the United States Navy.
And like his life, his art was sublime.
