Grace Paley




News

although we would prefer to talk
and talk it into psychological the-
ory the prevalence of small genocides
or the recent disease floating
toward us from another continent we
must not    while she speaks her eyes
frighten us    she is only one person
she tells us her terrible news    we
want to leave the room we may not
we must listen    in this wrong world this
is what    we must do    we must bear it