Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Questionairre

I recently came upon this poem by one of my favorite poets. I had never read it before but it is so relevant right now. If fact, I am now asking anyone I know who still supports Trump these questions:


Questionnaire

by Wendell Berry


How much poison are you willing

to eat for the success of the free

market and global trade? Please

name your preferred poisons.


For the sake of goodness, how much

evil are you willing to do?

Fill in the following blanks

with the names of your favorite

evils and acts of hatred.


What sacrifices are you prepared

to make for culture and civilization?

Please list the monuments, shrines,

and works of art you would

most willingly destroy


In the name of patriotism and

the flag, how much of our beloved

land are you willing to desecrate?

List in the following spaces

the mountains, rivers, towns, farms

you could most readily do without.


State briefly the ideas, ideals, or hopes,

the energy sources, the kinds of security; for which you would kill a child.

Name, please, the children whom

you would be willing to kill.

5 comments:

  1. Wow! Good poem, hard but good.

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  2. That's amazing. Thanks so much for sharing it.

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  3. Powerful. And so true. But the people who need to answer those questions, won't.

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  4. If we could get them to think about this reality the world would be a better place. Unfortunately, the rapacious have no conscience.
    'Name, please, the children whom you would be willing to kill.'
    Wow.

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