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The Pendulum
by Maureen Glaude"The notion of some infinitely gentle
Infinitely suffering thing."
- T.S. Eliot, in Prelude
The gentle ones
are the deepest sufferers.
What strange justice
in the corollary.
The sensitive being sustainers
of the heaviest blows
But infinitely gentle? Is anyone of us?
Perhaps the one who dangles the pendulum
measures the two sidesÂ’ history
altruism against victimhood
In between the two
where rises the stamina for resilience?
When convicted multiple murder accomplice
Karla Homolka
(one of whose victims was her own sister,
the others young girls who thought it safe
to trust a pretty, blonde, well-dressed woman)
pulls in with her moving van
to the NDG community of Montreal
will the neighbourhood watch
be infinite?
06/30/2005 Author's Note: Having soon served her time (12 years) in prison, for her role in the Paul Bernardo sex murders, Homolka is expected to be in the community and rumoured to be settling in NDG (Notre Dame de Grace), Montreal
Posted on 06/30/2005
Copyright © 2025 Maureen Glaude
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Chris Sorrenti on 07/01/05 at 02:47 AM Thought provoking piece appropriate for any time, but especially this time, as you've so appropriately pointed out by bringing in the element of Homolka. But what can society do about such a pariah once she's done her time? The T.S. Eliot lines nicely sets the stage for what follows. Fine work. |
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