Theodore Roethke Lull: This Poem, Written in 1939, Sounds All Too Familiar Today.

I found this while browsing through a book of Roethke's poetry today and found the subject matter to be surprisingly apt for the geopolitical climate today..
(written two months after Britain and France declared war on Germany)
“LULL
(November, 1939)

The winds of hatred blow
Cold, cold across the flesh
And chill the anxious heart;
Intricate phobias grow
From each malignant wish
To spoil collective life.
Now each man stands apart.

We watch opinion drift,
Think of our separate skins.
On well-upholstered bums
The generals cough and shift
Playing with painted pins.
The arbitrators wait;
The newsmen suck their thumbs.
The mind is quick to turn
Away from simple faith
To the cant and fury of
Fools who will never learn;
Reason embraces death,
While out of frightened eyes
Still stares the wish to love.”


Edvard Munch Workers on Their Way Home

Do you think this poem describes the Zeitgeist of the day?

Well I don't wait for a wish to love.. I try to love as fiercly as I can, every day. I hope that you have not fallen victim to the current climate of fear and division. Wishing you all the best friends, may you find peace and abundance despite the "fools who will never learn"!

I was divided and fearful before it was cool!
But that wasn't really a claimed trait until those dammed kids came along.

At least I know how to handle it... Seems common sense is all but common these days.

Probably has something to do with all the plastic in the water these days.

a reply to: lordcomac

Oh man, I hope you don't mind but I got an enjoyable little chuckle from your post.

a reply to: zosimov

He was a great poet. I tend to lean toward his work, The Waking. He describes beautifully the process of becoming awake.

a reply to: 3daysgone

Excellent, I found it in my copy and have it marked for a read.

Thanks!

Edit: Wow that was lovely.. that last verse is beautiful!

a reply to: zosimov

This dynamic has always and will always exist..

I think it's just the law of balance at play, yin yang..

Great poem.

And grats on 1000 flags!!!

a reply to: knowledgehunter0986

Yep you are right, this is a case of old junk (not the poem.. the subject matter) refurbished and sold as new.

Thanks for celebrating a cool ATS milestone with me!

a reply to: zosimov

Thank you for posting this poem -- deeply thoughtful ...and sadly sadly so appropriate.

I appreciate finding bits of gold like this among the mud. Humankind has so much potential; amid the screw-ups there is still this capacity for beauty and love. May our higher natures win out in the end.

Shine on.

originally posted by: SeaYote
a reply to: zosimov
Humankind has so much potential; amid the screw-ups there is still this capacity for beauty and love. May our higher natures win out in the end.

Shine on.

I just love this, and am so happy that mankind's capacity for beauty and love is part of your take on this thread!

..I see it too!

Keep shining as well, my friend