One of Walt Whitman's poems. He speaks about why he prefers animals to human beings.
Animals
I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contained;
I stand and look at them long and long.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition;
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins;
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God;
Not one is dissatisfied-not one is demented with the mania of owning things;
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago;
Not one is respectable or industrious over the whole earth.
From 'Song of Myself'
All the reasons of and for, unhappiness,envy,jealousy,anger,hatred,angst,put together in one compact observation. Succinct. Concise.Comprehensive.
And they say poets don't understand ground realities!
I know a friend who would echo these words over and over again. In fact her Ph.D. thesis is on this topic.
ReplyDeleteReally? That's interesting! Has she met Mr. Whitman yet? When you look at some of the lines of the poem, Sudha, don't you feel that you know at least one person who is a classic,living example of each of the characteristics mentioned?I know several!
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