The Nation.



Simple

By Rae Armantrout

This article appeared in the April 14, 2008 edition of The Nation.

March 27, 2008

for Aaron Korkegian

Complex systems can arise
from simple rules.
It's not
that we want to survive,
it's that we've been drugged
and made to act
as if we do
while all the while
the sea breaks
and rolls, painlessly, under.
If we're not copying it,
we're lonely.
Is this the knowledge
that demands to be
passed down?
Time is made from swatches
of heaven and hell.
If we're not killing it,
we're hungry.

Subscriber Login

4 ISSUES FREE

Subscribe Now!

The only way to read this article and the full contents of each week's issue of The Nation online is by subscribing to the magazine. Subscribe now and read this article -- and every article published since for the past five years -- right now.

There's no obligation -- try The Nation for four weeks free.

.
Popular Topics
Most Searched

Issues »

Most Emailed

Issues »

Blogs

» Campaign 08

Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time Palin | GOP puts its candidate in a political witness protection program.
John Nichols

» The Notion

Palin Coward Clock Starts Ticking | Palin's refusal to take questions -- from the press or investigators -- tells us about her character.
Ari Melber

» The Beat

What McCain Needs to Tell Us About Sarah Palin | Interviewing the VP choice is important, but the real questions can only be answered by McCain.
John Nichols

» The Dreyfuss Report

McCain and The Forrestal | Back in '67, McCain did recognize the horror of war. But he chose horror.
Robert Dreyfuss

» Editor's Cut

Inside Palin's Politics | A debate with Republican strategist Barbara Comstock over what McCain's running mate represents and where she would lead the country.
Katrina vanden Heuvel

» Capitolism

Community Organizers Fight Back | These people are not particularly practiced in taking things lying down.
Christopher Hayes

» ActNow!

Power Vote | New effort to build a green youth voter bloc of one million is growing.
Peter Rothberg

» And Another Thing

Sarah Palin, Wrong Woman for the Job | Seriously, people! Life is not a Lifetime movie.
Katha Pollitt