This was one of President John F. Kennedy's favorite poems:
"I Have a Rendezvouz with Death"
poem by Alan Seeger
I have a rendezvous with Death
At some disputed barricade,
When Spring comes back with rustling shade
And apple-blossoms fill the air-
I have a rendezvous with Death
When Spring brings back blue days and fair.
It may be he shall take my hand
And lead me into his dark land
And close my eyes and quench my breath-
It may be I shall pass him still.
I have a rendezvous with Death
On some scarred slope of battered hill,
When Spring comes round again this year
And the first meadow-flowers appear.
God knows 'twere better to be deep
Pillowed in silk and scented down,
Where love throbs out in blissful sleep,
Pulse nigh to pulse, and breath to breath,
Where hushed awakenings are dear...
But I've a rendezvous with Death
At midnight in some flaming town,
When Spring trips north again this year,
And I to my pledged word am true,
I shall not fail that rendezvous.
5 comments:
Thanks for posting this. Alan Seeger was an uncle of Pete Seeger and here's an interview on Democracy Now with Pete. Ironic that this should be JFK's favorite poem.
Hi Leslie,
I didn't know that about Alan Seeger. Yes, it is sadly ironic.
The first time I visited Dallas I went to the school book depository building, which is now a memorial. The exhibits and visuals brought the horror and heartbreak back, and I left there in tears.
After all these years, the sorrow is still palpable.
"After all these years, the sorrow is still palpable."
Indeed for all those who lived and remember the horror of November 1963.
"What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."
JFK
My favorite Kennedy quote.
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