Vox Populi
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Roberta Hatcher: Early Days
Except for the dying part
we were not unhappy
in those first days of the plague.
Into the sudden quiet—
riotous flowers and birds,
wildlife in streets and backyards.
Had they always been there,
hidden behind our busyness
and the noise of our machines?
Except for the burning part
we welcomed the mild winters,
the early spring.
Any trace of unease
covered by lilacs and jasmine.
Except for the killing part
we moved freely in our free country,
land of the brave and the free.
Flowers and stars and teddy bears,
flowers and stars and thoughts and prayers,
what exceptional people we are.
Yes, except for the coming apart part,
we were happy in those early days,
excepting all that was and was to come.
Copyright 2025 Roberta Hatcher
Roberta Hatcher is the author of French Lessons. She lives in Pittsburgh.
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I love these two poems, and someday hope to walk across the yellow bridge of Pittsburgh.
Roberta’s poem, Thank You For Crawling, linked to above, is an absolute gem of dark humor. I roared and groaned reading it.
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Yes, Roberta is witty in a subtle way.
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Roberta invites us into her poems with “radical hospitality.”
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Great phrase.
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Excellent use of repetition and quiet dark humor.
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Yes
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What a wonderful poem, great repeating of ‘except for…’
So truthful and powerful.
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Yes, it is a great poem.
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“All that was and was to come”… what a powerful poem. Thank you.
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Yes, the playfulness of the language is a counterpoint to the elegiac argument.
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Powerful. Thank you
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Lyrical and satirical both.
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Roberta maintains a wonderful balance between lyricism and satire, doesn’t she?
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A strong voice — fine, finely crafted poem. I will look for more work by Roberta Hatcher. This poem reminds me of Charles Simic at his best…
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Interesting comparison… Hatcher and Simic. I never thought of that….
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An important poem for our plague-time, impressive in its flow and technique and haunting ironies. An antidote to falling apart, it’s a poignant piece to remind readers to better focus on the reality unspooling—
bravo to the love of life underlying this poem, and to the first responders here, who uplift by their Vox Populi comments.
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First responders…. I like that phrase, Jim. Thank you.
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Thank you Roberta for this gentle and powerful poem to the moment we are in, have been in, (have always been in?) and who we are.
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A powerful poem. On second read, I realized I’d missed something first time through: the perfect incision of “What exceptional people we are.”
Thank you, Vox Populi, for regularly bringing us poems beautiful in their truth.
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Thank you, Maddie. Yes, Roberta’s poems are wonderful!
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Thank you for this very fine and timely write, Roberta. — Don
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A great start to the day. Finding a friend’s words in an excellent poem.
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