Shalom Freedman Poems

A TIRED OLD MAN/ LIFTS HIMSELF UP

A tired old man
Lifts himself up
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ALL THESE IRONIES AND INNER PAINS

All these ironies and inner pains-
All these sad reflections-
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THE LANGUAGE I FEEL MOST AT HOME IN

The language I feel most at home in
Is not my own.
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SAD IS THE POEM THAT CANNOT BE WRITTEN

Sad is the poem that cannot be written-
And the life that cannot be lived-
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I HAVE THE MIND AND MOOD OF POETRY

I have the mind and mood of poetry,
But I have no poem-
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THE BENT AND THE BROKEN

The bent and the broken
And the mind-lost and the mad
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I WALK AND WAIT FOR A POEM

I walk and wait for a poem
What else do I have but a poem?
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A MAN ALONE IS ONLY HIS OWN DEATH

A man alone is only his own death
Who gives nothing to the generations to come
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A POEM WITHOUT MUSIC OF ITS OWN IS NOT A POEM

A poem without music of its own is not a poem-
I have lost the rhythm of my soul
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IF I HAD A POEM NOW

If I had a poem now
The light of the morning
...