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David Selzer is a writer of poetry, prose fiction, screenplays and stage plays. He embraces digital platforms to share his work of more than fifty years… READ MORE
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CHARITY
The gusts of wind, that fling the scattered rain
against the panes and flail the eucalyptus –
which jerks as if a frantic, shaken doll –
are lowing in the chimney like an owl.
I draw the curtains as the twilight goes,
switch on the laptop and begin to write,
thinking of those who are without – homeless,
hungry, thirsty – no more than a mile
let alone a continent away.
Though giving assuages, on stormy,
desperate nights, survivor’s guilt intrudes
like a draught. Can we only save, at best,
ourselves and not the world?
5 responses to “CHARITY”
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A lovely poem, David, complemented by the final one. The eucalpytus ‘jerking like a frantic shaken doll’ is a deft image.
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Good! Reminded me of the need to pollard one of the eucalyptuses in the back garden this spring!
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And they say poetry has no practical value.
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Thanks, Ian, for pointing out the thematic link in this carefully selected quintet. As a starting point, this explores an aspect of the old simile “as cold as charity.” And you can hear David’s mother saying, “You do what you should”, if she had such doubts.
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Survivor’s guilt – I know it well. That eucalyptus image is most powerful
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