A Poem For Norman Morrison by Tim Hall
(For Norman Morrison, North American who burned himself
to death outside the Pentagon, in protest of the war in Vietnam)
by Tim Hall
Among cures, among blessings,
among prayers and sweet plans,
among children dreaming nuclear dreams,
he comes burning.
Among ducks, among blossoms,
in happiness at breakfast,
in fields and in cathedrals,
he comes burning.
Over sirens, over Autumn,
over broadcasts, and wires, and numbers,
over rivers of money and marble,
he comes burning.
Over passions, over lights,
over roads and oppressive governors,
over children forgetting the alphabet,
he comes burning.
Past griefs, past elements,
past stars and green crystals,
past crises, and questions, and wishes of dust,
he comes burning.
Still further, past airplanes, and objects,
past families exploding in unison,
past quarrels and innumerable white answers,
he comes burning.
Between a man and his heart,
between a woman and her soul,
between a child and his kindnesses,
he comes burning.
Below offerings and incense,
below the humblest starvation,
below a breath and a gasp,
he comes burning.
Deeper, below relics and frights,
below drowning performed without a message,
below the deepest buried man in the world,
he comes burning.
Among masses, he comes burning.
Among mornings, and evenings, and hopes.
Among delicate people contemplating revolution,
he comes burning.
He comes to the end, where he blooms like a flower.
He burns words, and appeals, and eyelids.
To the soul whose beliefs are ready to flower,
he comes burning.
Tim Hall is the editor of Struggle Magazine. He is a Marxist-Leninist. He also published my first poem for which I'll be eternally grateful.
Communism has been greatly smeared and misrepresented. I encourage you to investigate Struggle Magazine as it is a great literary work. In a world where poetry has lost it's meaning Struggle Magazine is strong voice for the working class.
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