Bundles of UPS Joy
Posted on January 24, 2011 at 1:25 pm
Dennis Whittle recently posted a poem on his blog Pulling for the Underdog. This has led to a lot of people on twitter calling for more poetry and less snark in aid and development blogs.
I can’t promise I’ll cut out all snark (although I have tried to cut back), but I can share a poem that has meant a lot to me over the years. I wrote this at age 17, when I first went away to college. My creative writing instructor gave me a dismal grade for it because he didn’t feel it had enough meaning. Regardless of what the instructor thought, it still speaks to me. Whether it will speak to you remains to be seen.
Bundles of UPS Joy
Easter comes on Thursday
the basket in a box.
The Easter Bunny wears
a funny shade of brown.
The jellybeans, the rabbit
and, of course, pink Easter grass.
“Happy Easter” and “I love you”
through 300 miles has passed.
Awake late Sunday morning
the basket by my bed.
The jellybeans half-eaten
the rabbit’s lost its head.
What happened to the Easter
that the younger girl once knew.
Funny, when you choose to gain
you also choose to lose.
Saundra Schimmelpfennig
—
Although this was written back when I was reflecting on my own loss, I still think about this in aid and development. When we bring in new innovations or new programs, they often replace or take time away from something else. I always try to reflect on what is being lost and whether losing that is positive or negative to the people we’re trying to help.
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It does speak to me. Thank you for sharing it.
Saundra, I have always appreciated your blog as one that tries to critique constructively instead of merely sneer. I have loved reading your poem and look forward to cutting back on snark even more right alongside you. Thank you for setting the example – and hopefully starting the trend of the development poetry!
[...] by Dennis Whittle’s recent post on Poetry and Development, emboldened by Saundra Schimmelpfennig sharing of her poem, and encouraged by @akhilak @zenpeacekeeper, and @rkrystalli on Twitter today, it is time for me to [...]
[...] Saundra and Dennis have been sharing some poetry. I’m going to join in, as there’s a poem that provides a useful longitudinal perspective with which to begin exploring one of the many long standing problems in aid slash international development today. [...]