Six humans trapped by happenstance
In dark and bitter cold
Each possessed a stick of wood--
Or so the story's told.
Their dying fire in need of logs,
But the first one held hers back,
For, of the faces around the fire,
She noticed one was black.
The next one looked cross the way
Saw one not of his church,
And could not bring himself to give
The fire his stick of birch.
The third one sat in tattered clothes
He gave his coat a hitch,
Why should his log be put to use
To warm the idle rich?
The rich man just sat back and thought
Of wealth he had in store,
And keeping all that he had earned
From the lazy, shiftless poor.
The black man's face bespoke revenge
As the fire passed from his sight,
For he saw in his stick of wood
A chance to spite the white.
And the last man of this forlorn group
Did nought except for gain,
Giving just to those who gave
Was how he played the game,
Their sticks held tight in death's stilled hands
Was proof enough of sin;
They did not die from cold without--
They died from cold within.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
"The Cold Within," unknown
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This poem just shows how these people that are freezing to death still hold a grudge. The black man in this will not give up his fire because he wants to be spiteful to the white people. The poor person in the group did not want to give their fire to the rich person in the group. This shows how hard it is to change a person's attitude even on their death bed's
ReplyDeleteThis poem creates the feeling of angry and the thirst for revenge. The people are angry AND THEY ARE DYING!If these guys can be mad at that time so I can.
ReplyDeleteI like how this poem is a story. It's easier to follow than some of the deeper poetry we read in class, and the story has a good moral. Each person around the fire is selfish, wishing to keep their stick for themselves (what good can they get out of a stick anyways?). And each person has their own justification for refusing to feed the fire. But ultimately, it is each person's own selfishness that leads to their demise. Learning from this, it is important to see the bigger picture instead of focusing on yourself or what is happening in the moment.
ReplyDelete