by Robert M. Chute
It can’t be just because I was
not there, had not seen those two trade
towers before they fell in flaming
video. It’s not as though I do
not care although it’s true I’d not
visit as large a city willingly.
I still think of people trapped who
jumped, or fell. It wouldn’t matter
where death is. Death’s death anywhere.
Why can’t I concur when you tell
me everything is changed, nothing
will ever be the same again?
Of course for victims, kith, and kin,
the world is raw and new. But has
the whole world suddenly become
wiser and humane? Men still beat
their wives. Men will still be beaten
for what they seem, not what they are.
What’s good is also much the same.
We’ve one more fear, but our lives go
on much as before. What’s new is
where. It was here, not over there.
Born near the Chute River, Naples, Maine in 1926, Robert M. Chute taught and conducted research at Middlebury College, San Fernando State (CA), and Lincoln University (PA) before returning to Maine as Chair of Biology at Bates College. Now Professor Emeritus of Biology, Bates College, Chute has a record of scientific publication in Parasitology, Hibernation Physiology, General Biology, and Environmental Studies. His poetry and collage poems appear in many journals including Ascent, Beloit Poetry Journal, BOMB, The Cape Rock, Cafe Review, The Literary Review, Texas Review. His poetry books include a three language reissue of Thirteen Moons in English, French, and Passamaquoddy (2002), and most recently, a three chapbook boxed set, Bent Offerings, from Sheltering Pines Press (2003). He is currently working on a series of poems based on reading scientific journals such as Nature and Science.
