That strange flower, the sun,
is just what you say.
Have it your way.
The world is ugly,
and the people are sad.
That tuft of jungle feathers,
That animal eye,
is just what you say.
That savage of fire,
That seed,
Have it your way.
The world is ugly,
and the people are sad.
Wallace Stevens wrote this poem back in 1921. His daughter, Holly Stevens put it in a book, The Palm at the End of the Mind; Selected Poems and a Play in 1967. I like it because I feel exactly this way sometimes - and sometimes I have a friend who expresses disgust and anger at the world and its people, and how horrible it all is, even as I am sitting there, being there for her, loving her gently in all her hate and self-immolation.