Day 49

"...one ought every day at least to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words." -Goethe

A poem for today: "What Kind of Times Are These" by Adrienne Rich

What Kind of Times Are These

BY ADRIENNE RICH

There's a place between two stands of trees where the grass grows uphill

and the old revolutionary road breaks off into shadows

near a meeting-house abandoned by the persecuted

who disappeared into those shadows.

I've walked there picking mushrooms at the edge of dread, but don't be fooled

this isn't a Russian poem, this is not somewhere else but here,

our country moving closer to its own truth and dread,

its own ways of making people disappear.

I won't tell you where the place is, the dark mesh of the woods

meeting the unmarked strip of light—

ghost-ridden crossroads, leafmold paradise:

I know already who wants to buy it, sell it, make it disappear.

And I won't tell you where it is, so why do I tell you

anything? Because you still listen, because in times like these

to have you listen at all, it's necessary

to talk about trees.

A song for today: "What's Going On?" by Marvin Gaye

Works Cited

Gaye, Marvin (1939-1984). "What's Going On?" What's Going On?, Tamla, 1971.

Rich, Adrienne (1929-2012). "What Kind of Times Are These." Poetryfoundation.org. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51092/what-kind-of-times-are-these. Accessed 30 April 2020.