The Made Thing Considers Itself

The Made Thing Considers Itself

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

Made the night, made the day, made deep
the waters, made the waters go away,
made the crow and the threshing sound,
made the earth and the shovel, made the dove
and the olive sprig, made holes in the ground
fill up with time, made peace a spring of trouble.
Made the rock, the bone, the mud, the cloud,
the bee-loud glade, made the prayer sound
of water wearing rock away, made the spark,
made the flint, made the dry grass brittle,
made the crystal, made the plug, made memory
on the touch screen glow, made aleph silent,
made fear live at home, made the cross winds
carry smoke from open window out open door,
made the circuit, made the fire a button turns on,
made the flood, made the drawer, made the deer
on plastic legs in the overgrown lawn,
made paradise, made tears, made the child yawn,

o you, o none, o no one, o you,
o fault, o vault, o stars,
o zero, o rift, o bright sea, o cliff

there is a height, there is a depth, there is
the level ground, there is silence there
where some hear only sound, there is ash
and hair and ashen hair, there is an alphabet
whose last letter wanders in the dust
seeking some thing that can’t be found,
there is wisdom and hunger and days,
blank pages in books, music, and strange
animals asleep in beds of their own making—
all night these animals dream of themselves
in this world of no proof only evidence.

Become a Sustaining Donor This September

Between the reemergence of right-wing red-baiting and Donald Trump’s use of the chilling National Security Presidential Memorandum–7 to criminalize left political organizing, we’re seeing McCarthyism reborn before our eyes.

This assault on democracy cannot be ignored or wished away. Resisting it requires bravery in the face of threats and repression, a steadfast commitment to the truth, and the unwavering belief that we can—and will—overcome this darkness.

We must have an independent media that sets the record straight, unearths corruption and abuses of power, and advances a politics of justice and dignity for all if we’re to win this fight.

That’s why I’m writing to you today. This September, The Nation needs to add 100 monthly donors to sustain our progressive journalism. Your contribution makes the next investigative report, the next truth-speaking column, and the next pathbreaking essay all possible. 

I hope you’ll support our work with a recurring donation today. If you donate $10 or more a month, we’ll send you a brand new “Hands Off the Free Press!” sticker to recognise your commitment to our cause. Please, donate today. 

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x