Comments on: “Yes We Can,” an inaugural poem by Marvin Bell

By: Riehlife Poem-of-the-Day:”Basho & the Crickets,” by Stephen Kuusisto | Riehlife

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:27:47 +0000

[...] A bit later I met him in person when I visited my friends Alan and Mary Brody in Iowa City. Mary, a world-class cook, made a feast for us. Along with Stephen Kuusisto the Brody’s and I enjoyed a Poet’s Dinner with Marvin Bell and his wife Dorothy. Riehlife featured Marvin Bell’s inauguration poem “Yes We Can” . [...]

By: Michaelkpoh

Michaelkpoh — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 22:19:42 +0000

This is a great poem, well-written and full of images and sounds. At one point I could almost picture myself on a 'ship of sorrow' headed to a port of uncertainty!

A few lines before the end of the poem, Marvin acknowledges the fact that the struggle for equality is still ongoing. It is a struggle we must all engage in to ensure we can say loudly and proudly one day; Yes we Have!!

By: Dr. Susan Ollar

Dr. Susan Ollar — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:25:56 +0000

I wish that this poem was read at the inauguration. It's majestic in its inspiration, so detailed in everything that we have to be grateful for. It caused me to think about all the people to whom I can be grateful. This poem is good at the beginning, good in the middle and good at the end. Good to read at the beginning of one's life, pointing to the simple pleasures, like rainbows of gasoline. It's good in the middle, celebrating the work, the birthing of children, caring for them as they go to school. And good at the end of life, when one reflects on everything that has passed, not just this one life, but so many lives that have come before. This poem makes me feel connected to all the people in this country, proud to feel patriotic again, to call myself "American." It celebrates our rise out of the fear that's permeated our country for eight very long years. I find myself feeling like a new patriot, someone who "will do for others for free" just for the love of it and the meaning of it. Thanks so much for posting this amazing collection of words. I'm grateful to Marvin Bell for his gift.

By: Arletta Dawdy

Arletta Dawdy — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:51:36 +0000

This poem soars with the energy of the new nation we were and are becoming. Bell carries us back to our origins and forward with our hopes. Yes, we can...we each and everyone can "do for others, for free." Thank you, Mr. Bell, for this "ring" of freedom, of hope and of joy!

By: Dr. Charlotte Hussey

Dr. Charlotte Hussey — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:56:46 +0000

I like Bell's poem. It is all-inclusive, has a Whitmanesque sweep, and is accessible, something that would speak to all Americans, not just to the poetic elite. It might be a tad shot on evocative imagery, but I understand he is going for inclusion rather than detail. Bell's poem is prolific and far reaching and celebrates the USA and its history and its working folk.

Dr. Charlotte Hussey, McGill

By: Taye' Foster Bradshaw

Taye' Foster Bradshaw — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 13:10:41 +0000

How beautiful! You wonderfully expressed the many thoughts, feelings, and emotions that have struggled to find words equal to the enormity of this historic moment!

By: Janet Riehl

Janet Riehl — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 05:06:24 +0000

Rebecca...And the Doctor is IN! It's so wonderful to hear such a specific comment on some of your favorite lines in this fine, affirmative, American poem by Marvin Bell. Thanks, Rebecca. I couldn't agree more...and, yes...We DID!

Janet

By: Janet Riehl

Janet Riehl — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 05:05:20 +0000

Yes...oh yes...Remember Molly Bloom's famous, orgasmic soliloquy towards the end of James Joyce's "Ulysses"? (Probably one of the reasons the book was banned in America I'm thinking)? Marvin's growing rhythm of "yeses" in this poem reminds me of that...where there is a growing build...a sort of Halleluyah chorus of "yeses" backing up a soloist. Oh, yes...I do love this poem, and the country which it celebrates. Janet

By: Dr. Rebecca

Dr. Rebecca — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 03:35:03 +0000

What a grand and positive affirmation of everything that makes America great.

I love these images, which conjure the adventurous souls who left their safe(r) homes to come to these shores:

"We are the yes from every continent,
The yes born of flesh and blood"

I love the baby's "Yes" at the breast, which illustrates the hunger and positive attitude that have made this country great.

I love it that Bell's poem remembers the Native Americans, many of whom lost their lives to disease and warfare.

I love it that Bell's poem acknowledges both our female and male forbears and compatriots.

A perfect poem for a great president, and a great nation, as we face the daunting tasks ahead.

Yes, indeed, we can!

By: Mary Sullivan Holdgrafer

Mary Sullivan Holdgrafer — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:44:35 +0000

Indeed I do still want to say yes. Let us all say yes to the best in us.