The Quotation Of The Day Mailing List
Quotation of the Day for November 2, 2003
I shall die
But that is all I shall do for Death
I hear him leading his horse out of the stall
I hear the clatter on the barn floor
He is in haste -
He has business in Cuba, business in the Balkans
Many calls to make this morning
But I will not hold the bridle while he cinches the girth
And he may mount by himself
I will not give him a leg-up.
Though he flick my shoulder with his whip
I will not tell him which way the fox ran
And with his hoof on my breast
I will not tell him where the black boy hides in the swamp
I shall die
But that is all I shall do for Death
I am not on his payroll.
I will not tell him the whereabouts of my friends
Not of my enemies either
Though he promise me much, I will not map him
The route to any man's door
Am I a spy in the land of the living
That I should deliver men to death?
Brother, the password and the plans of the city
Are safe with me
Never through me
Shall you be overcome.
I shall die
But that is all I shall do for Death.
- poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, in her work Conscientious Objector.
[The submitter notes: When peace seems further away than ever, what I remember today (on World Poetry Day) are the words of Edna St. Vincent Millay.]
Submitted by: Jeannette Cézanne
Oct. 15, 2003