Shankar Hemmady is the recipient of Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award for his poem, The SOCIALIST
I have received another lovely poem from Shankar Hemmady, a very apt commentary on the sorry state of politics in America today, where epithets, like Socialist, are being used to confuse and fool voters. Let us hope that Americans are not duped once again by scare tactics and demagogic put-downs that only line the coffers of those who have much. Let us keep in mind what our nation can do together, to give opportunity, like health care and education and employment, to all.
Shankar's poem speaks to my most powerful lessons of life, and what I believe so firmly. It is essentially a poem about love.
Karita Hummer
Here is Shankar Hemmady's beautiful poem, cross-posted from Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?v=feed&id=1455330101#/note.php?note_id=32683972198&ref=mf
The SOCIALIST
He was neither a conservative nor a liberal.
Out of necessity, he was really a radical!
He never wrote a business plan
Nor did he give long-winding speeches.
Never ever did he invest
nor make a profit,
nor rupture a bank
nor bail out an insurance giant!
He was neither a Joe Six Pack
Nor did he talk like a Pistol Packing Princess.
I wonder if He even killed a rat!
He didn't fight over gay marriages
Nor did he quarrel over unhappy divorces.
He didn't impregnate teeny tiny girls
Nor did he leave them uncared
alongside wounded veterans!
He neither preached the death penalty
nor did He burn people at pro-life protests!
He simply stayed in his heart,
mumbling parables incomprehensible:
"The Kingdom of God Is Within You"
"Love Thy Neighbor"
"Love Thy Enemy"
He neither had a Get-to-Market strategy
Nor a Golden Parachute.
Nor did he even fathom an Exit Strategy!
Exit he did, the way He allowed it be:
Died He for us, out there on the Holy Cross.
Several sorcerers still sell stories
Capitalizing coolly on catchy classics.
He died for us
He died for our welfare.
How much more agony
Do you want Him to bear?
Lots of love,
shankar
Out of necessity, he was really a radical!
He never wrote a business plan
Nor did he give long-winding speeches.
Never ever did he invest
nor make a profit,
nor rupture a bank
nor bail out an insurance giant!
He was neither a Joe Six Pack
Nor did he talk like a Pistol Packing Princess.
I wonder if He even killed a rat!
He didn't fight over gay marriages
Nor did he quarrel over unhappy divorces.
He didn't impregnate teeny tiny girls
Nor did he leave them uncared
alongside wounded veterans!
He neither preached the death penalty
nor did He burn people at pro-life protests!
He simply stayed in his heart,
mumbling parables incomprehensible:
"The Kingdom of God Is Within You"
"Love Thy Neighbor"
"Love Thy Enemy"
He neither had a Get-to-Market strategy
Nor a Golden Parachute.
Nor did he even fathom an Exit Strategy!
Exit he did, the way He allowed it be:
Died He for us, out there on the Holy Cross.
Several sorcerers still sell stories
Capitalizing coolly on catchy classics.
He died for us
He died for our welfare.
How much more agony
Do you want Him to bear?
Lots of love,
shankar
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