“On July 8” by Elly Bookman

[audioplayer file=”https://admin.rattle.com/audio/BookmanJuly.mp3″]

Elly Bookman

ON JULY 8

The man who waved the mock

trophy was the saddest. The boy

who wiped his tears and smeared green

and yellow paint on his collar

was the saddest. The model who

watched with her taxi driver boyfriend

and also the hotel doorman were both

the saddest. The teenager who picked

out a soda as the first goal went in,

waited in line during the second,

then paid the clerk as the net wafted

again in the third was the saddest.

The woman who played with her

grandson on the carpet in front of the

TV was the saddest, as was the grandson

himself, just full of great sadness.

Even the painter, listening to the radio

as he mixed the most lovely, exact

shade of violet on his palette, the saddest.

Saddest of all the countries, poor Brazil

was. No one else was waiting like

they were! No one else was at home,

watching round after round fire

and find its target all those many times,

collapsing joys as vital as lungs.

—Poets Respond
July 13, 2014

[download audio]

__________

Elly Bookman: “On the surface, the poem responds to the defeat of the Brazilian soccer team in the World Cup semifinal this week. As the game and its aftermath unfolded, I was struck by how easy it was for myself and those around me to feel empathy for Brazil, when so many more obvious tragedies were occurring elsewhere, such as the latest conflicts in Gaza. I hope the poem points out this disparity without invalidating the emotions surrounding any of the events that occurred on Tuesday.” (@ellybookman)

Note: This poem has been published exclusively online as part of a new project in which poets respond to current events. A poem written within the last week about an event that occurred within the last week will appear every Sunday at Rattle.com. To have your own poem considered for next week’s posting, submit it here before midnight Friday PST.