Classic Poem

o rare circle,
you are not in favor now
Not much is written about you
Perhaps not much is known about you.
But when I hear this:

“I am just a widow woman
What do I know?”

and when I see the father of many children
hurrying to the polls in Saigon
to pick the candidate whose symbol is the plow

and when I hear an eighteen year old tell the judge
“So here is Tom Rodd.
I wanted to go to Selma
and Montgomery but I didn't.
I wanted to go to Washington and confront the President
but I didn't
But this war is too much for me to say I didn't.
So I'm prepared to go to jail.
I have no beef against this court.
I want my friends to know that I'm an optimist.
I drink beer and I play the banjo.”

O rare simplicity,
when I hear this,
I know I am in your honest presence.