Vox Populi
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Laurence Musgrove: Surely
What right do I have to write
about what it means to be
human in a world I’ve never
visited nor rescued a new
exile in person, but of course
let’s not quibble over language
that excludes you and me
and those we don’t know
from standing on the shore
and wondering what we’d
have to do, to leave behind,
to lose, to grieve without stopping,
and tell me what is the path
of having nowhere else to go
but far and away from what
will surely kill our children?
Copyright 2024 Laurence Musgrove
Laurence Musgrove is a Professor of English and Modern Languages at Angelo State University in Texas.
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A wonderfully powerful poem that describes our powerlessness
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Thank you for this poem! And yes, there has been such wrangling and conflict around the role of “allies” not directly impacted by wars between human tribes.The sooner we stop worrying about our moral or philosophical place in such tragedies, and focus instead on trying to help the victims, the smaller the world becomes and the sooner divisions disappear.
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I couldn’t agree more, Louise.
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change is terrifying for many, but to move forward we have to push ahead to get to the next stage.
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exactly! Thanks, Fernando.
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This is the cry or lament of so many in our world.
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The poem asks the question what can we do in the face of such injustice. The answer is the poem itself, a cry of anguish.
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