The Great Society

Painting by Natalie Harvey


The Great Society


Dentists continue to water their lawns
even in the rain:
Hands developed with terrible labor
by apes
Hang from the sleeves of evangelists;
There are murdered kings in
the light-bulbs outside movie theaters:
The coffins of the poor are hibernating
in piles of new tires.


The janitor sits troubled by the boiler,
And the hotel keeper shuffles
the cards of insanity.
The President dreams of invading Cuba.
Bushes are growing over
the outdoor grills,
Vines over the yachts
and the leather seats.


The city broods over ash cans
and darkening mortar.
On the far shore, at Coney Island,
dark children
Playing on the chilling beach:
a sprig of black seaweed,
Shells, a skyful of birds,
While the mayor sits with his head
in his hands.


Robert Bly

Posted over on Poetry Foundation

Robert Bly, “The Great Society” from The Light Around the Body. Copyright © 1967 and renewed 1995 by Robert Bly.