And To Think...

AND TO THINK
And to think how easily
I could have become
another
“darling of the academy.”
One of those poets
anthologized
applauded
and admired,
for speaking so eloquently
of the poor-
of championing those causes
that they’ve never lived.
Elegantly coiffed
with gleaming teeth
and a fresh manicure,
what would I have known
of hunger,
homelessness?
Instead, I choose to remain
true to my art,
to bleed for integrity
a prisoner of conscience
like Armando Valladares,
broken bodied
writing from his wheelchair.
Or-
Like Miklos Radnoti,
whose most stunning verse
was exhumed with his body,
found tucked away
in a small notebook
in his coat’s pocket.
I choose to be
like those
who,
though lashed
by cruelty
and by violence,
through their lines
shout,
“We matter!”
“We exist!”
Who prove that indeed,
the pen
can be mightier
than the sword.

* Armando Valladares is a Cuban poet who opposed Castro's politics and was imprisoned
and tortured as a result. His autobiography is "Without Hope".
Miklos Radnoti was a Hungarian/Jewish poet killed during the Holocaust. His book, "Foamy Sky" is an excellent translaton and stunning.