ON MY RELUCTANCE TO WRITE POETRY ABOUT GAZA
When I wake in the morning,
longing for normal life
and ordinary joy,
the news grabs me by the throat.
Another rampage by the IDF.
Blood shed wantonly.
I’d want to write poems to match the horror
far off, yet close
as the flat next-door.
Once in a generation we think
we feel a tectonic shift of perceptions.
Maybe now is such a moment.
But poetry, or so I say,
marches to a different tune
and nothing I could write
about Gaza
would save a life,
or change one mind.
I hold my tongue.
My shame falls short.
Donald Gardner, born in London in 1938, is a poet, performer and literary translator and is more than well known to ‘Double Dutch’. His collection of the poetry of Flemish author, Stefan Hertmans, ‘Goya as Dog’, has just been published by Shearsman Books (UK). Collections of his own poetry include ‘The Wolf Inside’ (Hearing Eye Books) and ‘Early Morning’ (Grey Suit editions) and his ‘New and Selected Poems (1966-2020)’ appeared with Grey Suit editions (London, 2021). He is known for his readings of his own work. British poet, Stephen Boyce, wrote of him: ‘The first thing that strikes you is the volume and the vocal control, this is a man used to reading to large audiences or performing without a microphone. His body and his voice are his instrument’.
For more information about Donald Gardner, check out his website: www.donaldgardner.net