my coat hangs in tatters,
like homespun, old, threadbare.
All that I had of zest,
all my strength,
I have given in hard work
and kept nothing back for myself.
Now
my poor head swings
to offer up all the loneliness of my heart.
Dear God,
stiff on my thickened legs
I stand here before You:
Your unprofitable servant.
Oh! of Your goodness,
give me a gentle death.
Carmen Bernos de Gasztold (1919 - 1995) France
Translated by Rumer Godden
Source: Prayers From the Ark
I first saw this poem in Marguerite Henry's /Mustang: Wild Spirit of the West/, which I read when I was in 4th grade. The book tells the story of Annie ("Wild Horse Annie") Bronn and her fight to save the mustang. After witnessing a small band of horses cruelly rounded up and packed, barely alive, into a truck to be hauled off to a pet food factory, this poem was what came into her mind.
ReplyDeleteThe reason I looked this poem up is that the mustangs of the Salt Wash Basin in Colorado are about to be cruelly rounded up in the name of population control. Yes, there are more horses than the forage can support, but rounding them up by terrorizing them with helicopters is not the answer.
Thanks for this memory Carol - poetry has a powerful way of connecting us to real life sometimes. Sorry to read about the plight of the horses in your area - I hope something is worked out for them eventually.
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