NVN Thursday: 2 Poems in Time of War
“Lines Written in a Subway Car” by W. Luther Jett and “Each Devastation” by Linda Conroy
LINES WRITTEN IN A SUBWAY CAR
by W. Luther Jett
“Pity” (1795) by William Blake - Tate Britain, Public Domain
And pity, like a naked new-born babe, / Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubim, hors'd / Upon the sightless couriers of the air. —Macbeth (1.7.21–23)
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To the world: If you can watch this and have nothing to say at least have pity. If you can watch this and have no pity, or have pity for one and not for the other— It is you I must pity. And if you will not watch— for you I have nothing, nothing to say.
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W. Luther Jett is a native of Montgomery County, Maryland and a retired special educator. His poetry has been published in numerous journals as well as several anthologies. He is the author of five poetry chapbooks: Not Quite: Poems Written in Search of My Father (Finishing Line Press, 2015), Our Situation (Prolific Press, 2018), Everyone Disappears (Finishing Line Press, 2020), Little Wars (Kelsay Books, 2021), and Watchman, What of the Night? (CW Books, 2022). A full-length collection Flying to America is scheduled for release in the spring of 2024, from Broadstone Press.
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EACH DEVASTATION
by Linda Conroy
“Blue Shadow” (original hand painted Acrylic painting of Blue petals in different shades) by Deepu.
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brings blue shadow to the landscape reminding of the weight of volatility a volatility so broad that it might slam the farthest reach of sky. I see that the farthest reach of sky, a place that could bring joy in its daily birth, a birth that may absolve our sins in joy, is blurred with splashes of red dawn. A rawness of red dawn reflecting all spilt blood, acts of a night just gone. Blood this night spilled, done for now and slunk away, not pushed by any squall. No morning squall can push beyond the bruised blue shadows of this day.
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Linda Conroy is a retired social worker who likes to observe and comment on the human behaviors that we see around us, and on the connection between human nature and the natural world. Her work has appeared in many journals.