Poetry Wednesday: – Another of My Mother’s Poems

I wrote a couple of Wednesday’s ago how my mother used to recite poetry to me as a child which I assume was intended to influence me in how I should lead my  life. At that time I wrote about a little boy dying at home who could not wait for the spring to come. I suggested that was supposed to make me feel empathy for those who were trapped in poverty unable to have any medical help. At the time she was reciting these poems we were living in a housing project being assisted by the government, probably not far from the clutches of poverty itself should some untoward event happen to us, which fortunately it did not.

Today there are still too may little boys and girls and their families unable to gain medical care.  Yet we see there are many  who want to take medical coverage away from these poor as we see with Republicans who have gone to court to defeat the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act and are in court seeking  to take away the coverage afforded by that act to millions of Americans. They have nothing to replace it.

Today’s poem was recited by my mother to make me realize life is a gift that may be snatched away at any moment. That while we are living we should be generous and helpful to others and not be filled with hate or fear. It is especially pertinent at this time when we have Covid-19 stalking the land and Trump embracing a policy of herd immunity. The United States with 4% of the world’s population has 25% of the Covid-19 cases with the number over six million – far from the fifteen and going to zero – and 184,000 deaths, with the situation growing worse. I guess those who pointed to auto accidents or flu deaths have abandoned doing that. Yet, they still maintain Trump is doing a good job. Tell that to the families of those who have died!

The poem is by Eugene Field:

Little Boy Blue

The little toy dog is covered with dust,
But sturdy and stanch he stands;
And the little toy soldier is red with rust,
And his musket molds in his hands.
Time was when the little toy dog was new,
And the soldier was passing fair;
And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue
Kissed them and put them there.

“Now, don’t you go till I come,” he said,
“And don’t you make any noise!”
So, toddling off to his trundle-bed,
He dreamt of the pretty toys;
And, as he was dreaming, an angel song
Awakened our Little Boy Blue
Oh! the years are many, the years are long,
But the little toy friends are true!

Ay, faithful to Little Boy Blue they stand,
Each in the same old place
Awaiting the touch of a little hand,
The smile of a little face;
And they wonder, as waiting the long years through
In the dust of that little chair,
What has become of our Little Boy Blue,
Since he kissed them and put them there.

 

15 Comments

  1. Matt

    I wanted to be sure you didn’t miss this: As of yesterday, Trump’s attack on Social Security takes effect. Many employers―including the Federal Government―will stop funding Social Security.

    Here’s where things stand: Trump can only delay collection of Social Security’s funding, he can’t unilaterally eliminate it. But a key White House advisor went on Fox to tell them that he’s planning to delay the collection of Social Security’s dedicated funding indefinitely through a series of executive orders, functionally starving the program and creating a crisis.

    Social Security’s Chief Actuary recently stated that defunding Social Security will result in the trust fund being completely depleted by 2023, with disability payments cut off next year.

    On Friday, the IRS issued guidance for corporations not to withhold Social Security contributions from paychecks starting today, September 1st, through the end of the year.[1]

    Trump advisor Larry Kudlow went on Fox Business this morning and tipped that Trump would issue another order later this year that would continue the deferral indefinitely.[2] This is how Social Security dies.

    Social Security’s chief actuary wrote that if Social Security is defunded, it would be unable to pay some benefits NEXT YEAR, and benefits would disappear entirely by the end of 2023.

    For the legally blind

    https://www.startribune.com/cop-gives-mplsriot2020-coin-to-lawmaker-after-police-ride-along-in-minneapolis/572298452/

    Cop gives ‘#MplsRiot2020’ coin to lawmaker after police ride-along in Minneapolis
    State Rep. Jim Nash, R-Waconia, said he saw low morale among the officers in the precincts hardest hit by unrest. 
    By Paul Walsh Star Tribune SEPTEMBER 2, 2020 — 8:30P

    Also see

    https://portcitydaily.com/local-news/2020/09/02/felony-indictment-former-wrightsville-beach-cop-allegedly-requested-sex-nude-photos-in-exchange-for-free-passes/

    Felony indictment: Former Wrightsville Beach cop allegedly requested sex, nude photos in exchange for ‘free passes’
    By Port City Daily staff –
    September 2, 2020

    Blink Tank

    • “I wanted to be sure you didn’t miss this: As of yesterday, Trump’s attack on Social Security takes effect. Many employers―including the Federal Government―will stop funding Social Security.

      Here’s where things stand: Trump can only delay collection of Social Security’s funding, he can’t unilaterally eliminate it. But a key White House advisor went on Fox to tell them that he’s planning to delay the collection of Social Security’s dedicated funding indefinitely through a series of executive orders, functionally starving the program and creating a crisis.

      Social Security’s Chief Actuary recently stated that defunding Social Security will result in the trust fund being completely depleted by 2023, with disability payments cut off next year.

      On Friday, the IRS issued guidance for corporations not to withhold Social Security contributions from paychecks starting today, September 1st, through the end of the year.[1]

      Trump advisor Larry Kudlow went on Fox Business this morning and tipped that Trump would issue another order later this year that would continue the deferral indefinitely.[2] This is how Social Security dies.

      Social Security’s chief actuary wrote that if Social Security is defunded, it would be unable to pay some benefits NEXT YEAR, and benefits would disappear entirely by the end of 2023.”

      This is scare tactics at their best.

  2. “Please Mister, Take me in your car,
    I’m looking for my Mama.
    They say she’s up in heaven,
    Is it very, very far ?

    “My new Mama is very cross.
    She scolds me every day.
    She says she doesn’t love me,
    Cause I’m always in the way.

    “Always in the way,
    always in the way.
    My old Mama would never say
    I’m always in the way.”

  3. wa-llahi! Let’s eliminate capitalism from healthcare. Death to the assholes who profit from our sicknesses. Come the Revo, we’ll know who goes to the wall first. After marching health insurance CEOs out of their plush offices, we’ll take them down to the alley to face the people they’ve screwed.

    • Death to the fascists. Down with Trump. That’s what I’m talking about.

      • wa-llahi! It’s an Ilya Ehrenburg sort of day.

        Shall we set sail on a sparkling sea of bayonets? Sharp points of light beckon to us on the crest of every wave. The people are an ocean.

        • I’m thinking Bobby Sands would appreciate those lines.

          • Abe: Check out the film “Hunger” a Riastrad Production. I think you can get it on Amazon, or, Netflicks. It’s all about H-block, and, the hunger strike.. No varnish. Be ready. Oh yeah, “Short Eyes” is another good one.

            • I loved “Short Eyes”. Saw it long ago with some friends of the guy that tried to help the Short Eyes guy. Hispanic man. They were also buddies with the guy that did the killing. Charlie Longshoes Murphy was the characters name. I’ll look for “Hunger”. Thanks for the tip.

              Bobby Sands. Haven’t heard that name in a long while. Knew a man long ago that was probably SAS. He dealt with Sands and his buds in Ulster. Real bunch of ultraviolence fellows. They all got what they deserved.

  4. william m. connolly

    Matt politicizes poetry to impale Trump. Pathos: a rhetorical ploy appealing to emotions. From the Sound of Music, lyrical poetry: “When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when you’re feeling sad, simply remember it’s all Trump’s fault, and then you won’t feel so bad.”

    Matt, of course, to be fair, also blames the Presidents of Peru, Andorra, Belgium, Spain, Brazil, UK, Chile, Italy, Sweden (which all have more deaths per million than the U.S.) for all their Covid deaths. And he must blame the Presidents of fifty other countries which have high Covid death rates. Don’t blame China.

    New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut have higher death rates than any country in the world. Should we blame the Governors?

    Covid deaths will end. Drug overdose deaths will continue. To follow Matt’s rhetoric, we could blame the D.A.s for all drug overdose deaths since Vietnam, millions of them; we could blame Obama/Biden for all deaths occurring while they were in office.

    Matt falsely writes that the Republicans “have nothing to replace it (Obamacare.)” The Republican alternative to Obamacare is “The American Health Care Act.” It covers pre-existing illnesses, “expands savings accounts, provides tax credits for buying insurance, and allows people to purchase coverage across state lines.” The Republican plan does not eliminate Medicare or Medicaid, but some Democrats have supported eliminating all private insurance and replacing it with “Medicare for All.” Big Government run amok.

    2. Many of our parents, raised Democrats, were ardent supporters of Ronald Reagan and his conservative, pro-life policies and recognized the dangers of Big Government and the Welfare State.

    • America-Closing in on 200,000 deaths – worst in the world by far. You blame governors when the president is responsible.

      Poetry is politics. How can people support Trump who obviously colluded with Russia according to a bipartisan report which most fail to read and who cannot even speak out and condemn Russia for poisoning Nalvany when every western nation does. Trump who is already tweeting the election is rigged before the first vote is cast.

      You must feel great knowing for the first time on American history a president is suggesting he will not handle over his job peacefully. You will be happy if he does hang on despite his defeat.

      • Don’t kid yourselves, the big brawl is coming, a class war, cold, and, cruel. In the first moments of the Revo, get rid of Eric Prince. I know you fellas, probably, want Barr to be at the top of the hit parade, but, I beg to differ, Prince is the more dangerous of the two.

        • The worst thing about Prince is not that he is slime. It is that he is slime and he loves the job.

          Once again, “Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels.”

      • “You must feel great…….”

        Bill never feels great.