The Coward
by Eve Merriam
You, weeping wide at war, weep with me now.
Cheating a little at peace, come near
And let us cheat together here.
Look at my guilt, mirror of my shame.
Deserter, I will not turn you in;
I am your trembling twin!
Afraid, our double knees lock in knocking fear;
Running from the guns we stumble upon each other.
Hide in my lap of terror: I am your mother.
— Only we two, and yet our howling can
Encircle the world’s end.
Frightened, you are my only friend.
And frightened, we are everyone.
Someone must make a stand.
Coward, take my coward’s hand.
This fifteen line poem is comprised of five 3-line stanzas, no consistent meter, but a consistent ABB rhyme pattern for each stanza.
The substance of the piece is a call for bravery in battle. The Speaker is addressing a silent second party, seemingly someone who was attempting to desert, confessing to him his own shared fear, and encouraging him in the final stanza to take a stand in spite of that fear.
It’s a powerful poem about a circumstance few people in the present have ever experienced. Given that, many treat the substance as metaphorical and find in its description of battle, and the urge to desert, their own life circumstances. The call for bravery is thus a call in all difficult circumstances. We might hope that whenever we face such times we have someone like the Speaker urging us on.
Wow, that was certainly a powerful poem. I think it serves as a good reminder that if we stand together even when we’re scared we can bring about change.
Oh, definitely, I agree. It is and it does.
I also found out that it was quoted in a pretty intense war movie from the 1940s about race relations. Given the time period… not the most PC (to say the very least) but it was extremely progressive for the time.
Oh I see, that’s interesting. Yeah most older movies were that way but need to be understood in context of when they were made.
True enough, but often hard to do! I suppose everyone gets some practice at this with their own parents and grandparent (who typically think, speak, and act from the context of their own lives.)
Yup, definitely.