THERE ARE MEN TOO GENTLE TO LIVE AMONG WOLVES
There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who prey upon them with IBM eyes
And sell their hearts and guts for martinis at noon.
There are men too gentle for a savage world
Who dream instead of snow and children and Halloween
There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who anoint them for burial with greedy claws
And murder them for a merchant’s profit and gain.
There are men too gentle for a corporate world
Who dream instead of candied apples and ferris wheels
And pause to hear the distant whistle of a train.
There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who devour them with eager appetite and search
For other men to prey upon and suck their childhood dry.
There are men too gentle for an accountant’s world
Who dream instead of Easter eggs and fragrant grass
And search for beauty in the mystery of the sky
.
There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who toss them like a lost and wounded dove
Such gentle men are lonely in a merchant’s world,
Unless they have a gentle one to love.
– James Kavanaugh
where are they?
hiding i suspect
from accountants
from corporate conglomerates
from cougars with long lacquered red claws
from the powerful mega rich in porsches
sometimes they peep out
from underneath their rocks
and find a night sky to wonder at
the lucky ones find
a gentle one to love
the other lucky ones
find books and write poems
Thank you!!!You just made my day! I discovered James Kavanaugh some 20 years ago in a Borders book store in the US, read half the book sitting on the floor of the poetry aisle and still have 5 or 6 of his books! And I agree.. the gentle ones need to find gentle love so there is some part of this world that still remains meaningful.
ReplyDeleteYour answer is a gentle compliment to Kavanaugh's meditation. Lovely poem. :)
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the Kavanaugh poem, Rall, but I really like the direction your poem took you. I especially like
ReplyDelete’sometimes they peep out
from underneath their rocks
and find a night sky to wonder at’
and count myself blessed that I found books and write poems.
I to wonder where all those to gentle for this world has gone... :-)
ReplyDeleteI also hide my gentleness under a hard exterior, maybe we all do?
The lucky ones, indeed. A beautiful poem (from another fine poem). Such a gentle man--or gentle woman! may they each find a gentle one to walk through life with.
ReplyDeleteI was lucky enough to find a gentle man, and he found me – after some false starts for each of us.
ReplyDeleteThank you for introducing me to James Kavanaugh! After this poem and Rajani's comment, I'll be looking for more of his work.