poem
Volume 32, Number 4

Revolution

after Wislawa Symborska

I believe in the great revolution.
I believe in the women and men who attempt it.
I believe in the fear they will cause.

I believe the ones who die may get off easy.
I believe the ones left behind have to make deal after deal.
I believe more than a few go crazy

I believe in the singing of songs and linking of arms,
as well as in the rolling of eyes.
I believe in thinking great thoughts and fashioning ideas.
I believe there is never enough time.

I believe in the sowing of seed and planting of trees.
I believe there will be rest in their shade and fruit on their vines.
I believe in a severance of future from past; that a sharp blade falls.

I am sure of my passive assent to before;
my non-innocent praise for after.
I believe in a corner somewhere for my kind.
I believe in a window through which to long and long.


—J. Stephen Rhodes