THE QUIET BOYS IN CLASS
by Bryan Borland
It pains me to see them so old,
older than me
but younger by a decade.
They don’t volunteer
where they’ve been
but they’ll answer you direct
if you ask specifically
War, what is it good for?
It doesn’t sound like a song
when they reply
Absolutely nothing.
© Bryan Borland
“It pains me to see them so old,
older than me
but younger by a decade.”
Reminds of that wonderful Dylan lyric: ‘I was so much older then/I’m younger than that now” (‘My Back Pages’).
Good work.
i second the strength of those lines
i have some problems here. it reads a bit strange to me. i think it might be my ability and comprehension of english.
but i love your tome (as always), the message and the way you deliver it.
you’ve got this wonderful directness with your poetry. i love it because it always leads me to some sort of sucker punch that leaves me reflecting. the rhythm you develop here furthers that thought process.
reads clear as day to me, a dark day, a day of reckoning
I remembered the song…perhaps because you captured the concept , the uselessness of so much pain and desolation so well. And it’s true that noting ages us more than disappointment.
good work, Bryan. have a great day.
Yass….
Absolutely nothing…
Dig it
This says so much in so few words, Bryan. I think it is excellent; in my opinion, one of your best.
Thanks for the feedback, my people. This poem is about those rare few seconds in life when you’re slapped in your face and circumstance HANDS you a pre-written poem. I have to also thank the real Quiet Boy in Class who actually answered the instructor’s question “What is war good for?” with “Absolutely nothing.” He’d been soft spoken for weeks and his sudden response shocked me. I had no idea he’d fought in Iraq. Instantly I adored him.
Concise and powerful, excellently said.
absolutely nothing indeed… the poetic ‘universe’ speaks in cycles me thinks!
Poignant and wonderful…
Absolutely spot on.
Good poem poet, nice to read you again, and you are right it sound like shit because it is good for shitty things, just that, besides is sad. To sad perhaps to sing properly, to difficult.