This poem was sent to me by Mid-Atlantic Conference speaker and
enthusiastic member of Robert Bly's men's gatherings, Will WInter.
The line "Every day we steal from Ourselves knowledge gained over a
thousand years," painfully reminds me of what bad stewarts we have
become in the past 30 years. Here's to waking up to each other's
voices. -Allan
Will said:
Perhaps poetry can wake us up to what we are about to commit...Read
it out loud! Please. And pass it on with Robert's blessing. Thank
you.
Call and Answer
Tell me why it is we don't lift our voices these days
And cry over what is happening. Have you noticed
The plans are made for Iraq and the ice cap is melting.
I say to myself: "Go on, cry. What's the sense
Of being an adult and having no voice? Cry out!
See who will answer! This is Call and Answer!"
Some masters say our life lasts only seven days.
Where are we in the week? Is it Thursday yet?
Hurry, cry now! Soon Sunday night will come.
We will have to call especially loud to reach
Our angels, who are hard of hearing; they are hiding
In the jugs of silence filled during our wars.
If we don't lift our voices, we allow others--who are
Ourselves--to rob the house. Every day we steal from
Ourselves knowledge gained over a thousand years.
Robert, how come you've listened to the great criers
And now you are a sparrow quiet in the little bushes!
It's Saturday night, and you still haven't cried.
Robert Bly
