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Cry Shame

Text of Poem

Stones outlast weather,
horses sleep standing up,
flies never bother pigs—
how can I endure the tears
of a woman whose husband died
in a jungle?
I have my own wailing wall
to weep against for the many
murders I have planned, and
what sleep is there for any of us
when our hearts cry shame?
I too have sent planes, bombs, poison
to burn and rape the country
of brotherhood, and who can tell me
what to say when my own anger
calls me to account.

First Line
Stones outlast weather,
Original Pub Location
Original Publication Date
1969
Original Citation
America (1Nov. 1969) 393.
Republication
Complete Poems
210
Hearst Collections
Word Count
87
Poetic Form
open
Observations
an anti-Vietnam War poem
Themes
Twitter Quote
how can I endure the tears / of a woman whose husband died / in a jungle?