It's National Poetry Month, and this is my favorite poem. I find it extremely touching. That last line kills me.
Saint Judas
by James Wright
When I went out to kill myself, I caught
A pack of hoodlums beating up a man.
Running to spare his suffering, I forgot
My name, my number, how my day began,
How soldiers milled around the garden stone
And sang amusing songs; how all that day
Their javelins measured crowds; how I alone
Bargained the proper coins, and slipped away.
Banished from heaven, I found this victim beaten,
Stripped, kneed, and left to cry. Dropping my rope
Aside, I ran, ignored the uniforms:
Then I remembered bread my flesh had eaten,
The kiss that ate my flesh. Flayed without hope,
I held the man for nothing in my arms.
Anybody else have favorite poems I should be reading this month?
4 comments:
Great favorite! Thanks for the introduction.
Wow, I've never read that one. Phenomenal Woman by Alice Walker is one of my all time favorite poems.
CSIowa--Glad you liked it!
Eliana--I like Phenomenal Woman, too. I heard a really good reading of it a couple of years ago.
MBC, I am sorry to say that I am not a poetry enthusiast. I can appreciate good poetry and you my friend are my poet connaisseur.
I saw this article for you though:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7986036.stm
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