Poem written by my friend Richard

Weather Report


Does it seem odd, or is it just me,

that the “Jeopardy” answer is never:

“A president murdered by General Pinochet”,

or that the phrase on Wheel of Fortune

is never: “Where they burn books,

they will ultimately burn people also.”



Or that, 24/7, we can watch tornadoes

sear lives shut across Oklahoma,

machine guns fire across Gaza,

blood leak across dusty blacktop,

fast jeeps chased by faster helicopters

across a desert, or talking heads

declaim about revolutions

they’ve never needed,

their children never maimed,

their parents never disappeared

into dark waters

with hands tied in prayer

behind their backs.



Or, odder still,

me watching it all

as I surf my five hundred channels

with a bowl of popcorn,

so sure I comprehend,

so glad I care,

so frugal with my compassion



that I have enough for the whole world.


-Richard Russeth-

 the original poem appears on Richard's blog here "Weather Report"