I Cannot Tell a Why

What is the sum of one plus one,

Where did Apollo land,

When did the Titanic sink?

These answers, close at hand.

 

But ask why there’s such sadness,

Why good people have to die,

Why some grief will never fade ~

I just can’t tell you why.

 

I’ll tell you if your stocks are up

And how to tie your shoes;

Which baseball player is the best ~

I’m good with hows and whos.

 

But why a bully just won’t stop

Until his victims weep ~

I can’t begin to answer that;

The whys go much too deep

 

Why does violence seem the norm

with peace in short supply;

I guess I’m not too bright, because

I cannot tell a why.

 

Reviews

[ANTO]

The thinkers dilemma Rita. Stoopidity wins through but it shouldnt cause its obviously the stoopid thing to do. I imagined the old anti-war poster whith its huge WHY? beside a falling soldier when I read this. Powerful writing - an iron fist in a velvet glove methinks...

[Rita L. Sev]

Still trying to figure it all out... Thanks so much, Anto.

[Eddie Phillips]

Rita, I hear myself in this poem. I often say the same thing. The whys are hard to contemplate and most times difficult to find. Great poem that makes you feel and think.

[Rita L. Sev]

Thank you so much, Eddie. I search for those whys every day, to no avail...

[Will]

This is a very interesting piece, Rita. It poses a question that many of us find difficult to answer: why? Justification and reason are often the most difficult aspects of our existence, and you tackle this issue with well-rhymed verses and meter here. Well done.

[Rita L. Sev]

I was hoping that the wiser poets here could regale me with an answer; alas, as you say, it is too difficult a question... Thank you, Will.

[Will]

I may not be a wiser poet, but my answer to "Why?" is most often "Why not?"

[redflutterby]

The what, where and how are easier questions. Why is anyone's guess even if the "facts" seem clear. Great poem Rita...another one that comes in handy with kids. ;-)

[Rita L. Sev]

I try to keep the lessons simple - for the kids, and the simple adults! Thanks so much, Red!

[Shivam Murari]

This is the best and most absorbing poem I've read on this site for months. A masterpiece among all! Into my library!

[Rita L. Sev]

Thank you so much, Shivam - I am humbled by your review.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

The "why's" are always the most difficult things to tackle. I have to admitt that I am much like you in this regard...sometimes, even if I know the answer, giving it is difficult because of the way that it hits the heart. At other times, I haven't the slightest idea "why" certain things happen...except to echo the words of my grandmother, "everything happens for a reason"...but this is cruel and so often seems like something I just cannot grasp. Thought provoking and heartfelt.

[Rita L. Sev]

We are told that "everything happens for a reason" so there will be some kind of answer, but you are right - it is not an answer at all... Thank you, Sarah.

[Anand Sehgal]

Why does violence seem the norm

with peace in short supply;

I guess I’m not too bright, because

I cannot tell a why.


So relevant questions you have thrown at us to ponder over. So meaningful write :) brilliant as always.

[Rita L. Sev]

Thank you, Anand.

[NeiL ArandA]

Yes ...This is so simple at yet it pack with a lot of punch . Sometimes God uses the simple things, the simple people and the most simplest question to teach us common sense and wisdom. I hope I won't offend anyone but bullies are losers, someone that is so full of insecurities that they prey on the weak. Most often times these losers, I mean lesser individuals don't make it well in school and ends up not finishing well. Getting the less than desirable job in the world . If they do make it someone worse than them will put them in their right place.
Yep the bullied will make it for they have the driving force that propels them to even greater heights . And these bullies will be emptying their trash and mopping their toilets and restrooms.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful piece Rita . So much to think about the kind of world that we now live in. When people writes something like this. It is when the pen becomes mightier than the sword.

[Rita L. Sev]

Thank you, Neil, for this insightful review. I agree that the bullied, if they are strong, can be victorious in Life. It is a hard road, though, and I wish it did not have to be...

[rutherford]

I like the transition from knowable questions to the simplicity of the unknown.

[Rita L. Sev]

Thanks, John