They Day After Tuesday
On the day when my used-to-be countrymen
voted to throw their country away, and their
children and grandchildren away, I did
what I could, which was picking up sticks,
grooming the long hooves of the forest
….. whose life they have
………. shortened by half.
On the day when they voted to roll up
the map and burn up the calendar, voted
to spend all that remains of the earth’s
endowment right now on themselves,
I thought I should cry, but I’d run out
….. of handkerchiefs,
…………run out of tears.
On the day when there was nothing I could do,
I did pretty much nothing and hoped
for the best. Although the best in these conditions
may not be very different from the worst.
Not different at all, in the end, except
….. we’d have seen it
…………a bit farther off.
by Robert Bringhurst
from On Occasion: Poems for the People
Coach House Books, 2024
Enjoying the content on 3QD? Help keep us going by donating now.