by Vijay Seshadri

by Vijay Seshadri
     We hold it against you that you survived.
     People better than you are dead，
     but you still punch the clock.
     Your body has wizened but has not bled
     its substance out on the killing floor
     or flatlined in intensive care
     or vanished after school
     or stepped off the ledge in despair.
     Of all those you started with，
     only you are still around；
     only you have not been listed with
     the defeated and the drowned.
     So how could you ever win our respect？——
     you， who had the sense to duck，
     you， with your strength almost intact
     and all your good luck.