Plough Shares

Tethered to the real world, my mind 

idling a million miles away 

cuts from the kittlish bantery 

to black matters matter, batter 

of bewildered eggs being whittled 

to ill-liquid bomb. Another round 

of jackboots, whishing sandals 

taking to the streets to counter 

argument -- what makes a nation?  

Whichever sidewalk one chooses 

to straddle to gape the nightly fireworks 

redolent ache of privilege 

seems immaterially connected 

to reality of history -- 

how each was seated around the table, 

shunted to or from the stable. 

Beyond what’s reliable, the script 

to our times cannot be read through 

the tinted spectacles of old 

men writing for their posthumous 

positions in the pantheon. 

More varnish to the leaden walls,  

rethatch of a leaky roof’s shingle, 

will not suffice to say the obvious: 

my own country is not synonymous 

to owning a country -- 

the ploughshare that cuts soil loose 

is no less than the trader’s share 

 

being hawked for bounty. A honest man’s 

sweat milled from the tears of a life’s

harvest is as valuable as 

any banker’s gratuitous tip. 

Ken e Bujold

Reviews

[Zoe Richardson]

There's a complaint here. I'm not quite sure what it is, but it is there in the tone. What makes a nation? I would say the good and the bad and the ugly all contribute. We cannot view the past through the lens of the present or attach the virtues and sins of today to its history. Erasing or revising history simply means we are doomed to repeat it, and most nations were formed through conquest. I would say you must view history without attaching virtue or vice to it. There's no changing it. All you can do is examine it and get on with life.

[Ken e Bujold]

yes there is a complaint, an ache really Zoe. What makes a nation? the sum of all its parts. ALL its parts. as I say a little further along "my own country is not synonymous to owning a country" which quite simply is a reflection that society is diverse microorganism, and never a one way reflectiing mirror. History is full of vices and virtues, which is not to suggest we judge the past by today's standards, but it does need to be viewed with an understanding that what was is only unchangeable in so far as we cannot remake the past, but we are not predestined to repeat it. Change is life.
Thanks for dropping by and for the thoughts and the thoughtful review

ken

[Zoe Richardson]

Ah! But who gets to decide what is the virtue and what is the vice? I could give you examples, but I would rather you just mull that over. When you look back, you must do so objectively. To do otherwise is a disservice to those who contributed to history.

[Ken e Bujold]

deciding virtue/vice of historical periods is akin to dressing up a sow. What I am driving at in poem, and in our discussion, is quite simply no one owns history, it is done and gone. Nation's have their cultures, historical touch stones, but they are also living/breathing organisms and therefore subject to change. Trying to govern a multi-ethnic polygot as if it were colonial times, or even the age of Cleavers, is an impossibility. Western Nation's ceased to be tribes long long ago. From our diversity of ethnicity comes strength, but only when we acknowledge the diverging opinions within the commonwealth

ken

[Zoe Richardson]

I won't disagree entirely. A lot of what you are saying depends on what nation you are referring to. In mine, we are devolving into tribes again, each with an 'identity' that drives a false narrative. All the virtue is being placed on being a victim rather than pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and succeeding in spite of your hardships. HIstory is viewed through the lens of "oppression" instead of the glorious melting pot of contribution. If you are able to identify with more than one tribe, and more than one kind of victimization, they you are the most virtuous. All of throughout history, people conspired to oppress this group or that group and that was the sole point of the nation's existence. No one owns history. There are several different histories that all took place at once and all are complex and multifaceted. But no one gets to re-write it, either, and then demand the revisions be accepted as truth.

[Lorry]

What does make a nation Ken? Every nation on the planet is made up of good and bad, with not even history erasing the mistakes, not that we don't continue making them to add to history's ever growing equation.
I was going to use Germany as an example, but then I thought of MAD Vlad Putin, who should have remembered that even teeny weenie Finland b***h slapped Russia back home during the winter war. Did he learn from that? No, is he insane? All signs point to yes, he's as nutty as an explosion in a snickers factory, but whatever despot follows his long overdue assassination will no doubt make the same mistakes and let's face it, if flower power ever surfaces in Russia, it will be blown back to the sixties along with all those with unregulated length hair (hippies)
But it deflects quite poorly on us too! Just like when Zimbabwe felt the full force of Britain's might, when we told them they were banned from cricket!
They must have been shitting themselves at that!
Perhaps what makes a nation is their reaction to atrocities elsewhere, and for that I think most of us will be getting a "must try harder" on out report card.

[Ken e Bujold]

don't disagree Lorry. Though this one is more akin to the propensity people have these days for talking across one another, falling into the us/them mentality. Key line to me, is my own country is not synonymous to owning a country. In other words, diversity of opinions demands recognition of others' rights. Locking up those we disagree with is not a right. storming a parliament is not a right. denying other's the right to live as they choose, within boundaries of a lawful society, is not a right. I could go on, but I know you get what i am driving at

ken

[Lorry]

I do, and I concur... Ooh, I might make concur my word of the day! 😊

[Soren]

This is quite the piece of incredible depth and repeat with magnificent metaphors.
" the tinted spectacles of old
men writing for their posthumous
positions in the pantheon."
"the ploughshare that cuts soil loose
is no less than the trader’s share
being hawked for bounty."
two among several that are striking in there poetic form.

[W. Barrett Munn]

You always continue to amaze with your talent and I for one am grateful we get to read you for free. Btw, Ploughshares is the name of a quite prestigious literary magazine so the title fits well your writing .

Winston

[Ken e Bujold]

i have been a subscriber to plough for god knows how many years. It is my introduction to many new writers

[Ken e Bujold]

and btw thanks for the humbling comment. Poetry should be free. Finding readers who appreciate is always reward enough