Poets answer an age-old question: Why did the chicken cross the road?
Seamus Heaney:
Husbandry says “Stay safe
on this side of the street.”
But once in a while
a chicken will rise to her feet
(if she’s not met defeat)
and see that the other side
is reachable from here.
Now she comes near.
[Click here to read an excerpt from The Cure at Troy by Seamus Heaney]
See Part 1 here (or see the 3 pages together below).
Congratulations to newly inaugurated President Joe Biden (who quoted from the same play in his acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention). May we all make it through the lengthy healing process.
JERRY (counselor): Poetry Crisis Line, what is your emergency?
THE CURE (chorus): Human beings suffer
JERRY: Philosophers have written a great deal on the question of why people suffer.
THE CURE: They torture one another
JERRY: That is one reason.
THE CURE: They get hurt and get hard.
JERRY: As long as it’s consensual.
THE CURE: No poem or play or song can fully right a wrong inflicted and endured.
JERRY: So we’re talking about a lengthy healing process?
Excerpted from The Cure at Troy by Seamus Heaney
JERRY (counselor): Poetry Crisis Line, what is your emergency?
THE CURE (chorus): Human beings suffer
JERRY: Philosophers have written a great deal on the question of why people suffer.
THE CURE: They torture one another
JERRY: That is one reason.
Excerpted from The Cure at Troy by Seamus Heaney.
COUNSELOR: Poetry Crisis Line, what is your emergency?
CALLER: Cloudburst and steady downpour now
COUNSELOR: So you’re calling to talk about the weather?
CALLER: for days.
COUNSELOR: Right. If you want to talk to days, I may need to transfer you to another counselor when my shift ends.
CALLER: Still mammal,
COUNSELOR: That’s correct. I don’t think we have any birds or reptiles working today.
CALLER: straw-footed on the mud,
COUNSELOR: I don’t know what shoes the other counselor will be wearing.
CALLER: he begins to sense the weather / by his skin.
COUNSELOR: Um, yes. If you go out in the rain, your skin will feel it.
CALLER: A nimble snout of flood
COUNSELOR: So there’s rain up your nose?
CALLER: licks over stepping-stones
COUNSELOR: So you’ve got a dog out in the rain? They love that.
CALLER: and goes uprooting.
COUNSELOR: So you need to get him out of your garden. Do you have any dog treats?
CALLER: He fords
COUNSELOR: No—you want him out of the garden, but don’t encourage him to chase cars.
CALLER: his life by
COUNSELOR: Yeah, it could risk his life. Can you call him? What’s his name?
CALLER: sounding.
COUNSELOR: You mean Sounder? Like in the book?
CALLER: Soundings.
COUNSELOR: That’s a strange name for a dog, but OK.
From “Gifts of Rain” by Seamus Heaney
