Shared by Serene Elhashimi on Facebook: In 2007, Lawrence Ferlinghetti wrote the poem “Pity the Nation,” drawing inspiration from Kahlil Gibran’s original work of the same title, first published in 1933. Both poets’ words resonate with the ageless truth that history often repeats itself. O, sweet land of liberty!
Both poems are referenced below. Compare the two and share your thoughts in the comments—let us know which one you believe is more relevant to the 21st century.
“PITY THE NATION”
BY LAWRANCE. FERLINGHETTI (2007)
Pity the nation whose people are sheep
And whose shepherds mislead them
Pity the nation whose leaders are liars
Whose sages are silenced
and whose bigots haunt the airways
Pity the nation that raises not its voice
but aims to rule the world
by force and by torture
And knows
No other language but its own
Pity the nation whose breath is money
and sleeps the sleep of the too well fed
Pity the nation Oh pity the people of my country
My country, tears of thee
Sweet land of liberty!
● “PITY THE NATION”
By Khalil Gibran, 1933
Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.
Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own wine-press.
Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful.
Pity the nation that despises a passion in its dream, yet submits in its awakening.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except among its ruins, and will rebel not save when its neck is laid between the sword and the block.
Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggler, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking.
Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpetings, and farewells him with hootings, only to welcome another with trumpetings again.
Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years and whose strong men are yet in the cradle.
Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.
《《 Reference Books 》》
1. (Ferlinghetti’s Greatest Poems https://amzn.to/47I4piF)
2. (The Garden of the Prophet by Kahlil Gibran https://amzn.to/47JXZ2o)
