Sunday 2 June 2019

Ninety Nine Percent





Teach me instead about peacetime,
the chaps who did not go to war,
the peasant folk who stayed at home,
who tilled the land and manned the store.

Tell me about the millions who
toiled ceaselessly, but left no mark.
The doormen of old neighbourhoods.
The fishermen out in the dark.

Spell out the history of small men
whose footsteps wore out cobblestones -
the mason, the cook, occupations
that did not involve crowns and thrones.

Speak of the ninety nine percent,
and tell me how their lives were spent.





15 comments:

  1. An emphatic YES.
    And teach me about women, whose work is both imperative for our survival and so often ignored.

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    1. So strange you should say that. This is part of a series of 14 poems and some parts are about the invisible work women do - 'speak of the quiet fifty percent.' :)

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    2. Hope you'll post the 50% one ... and the series ... perhaps you have and I've missed them. I so agree with both of you ... cheers Hilary

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  2. Hari OM
    YES YES YES!!! perfect, Nila. YAM xx

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    1. Great to see you back here. Glad you liked it :)

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  3. Oh you struck a chord. It's the day to day folks that keep this world spinning and also deal with the fallout from the "big" picture that's destructive.

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    1. Totally agree! The ordinary folk keep the world spinning and all their hard work goes unrecorded.

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  4. This is so beautiful Nila - the nobility of the ordinary! ♥️

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    1. Thanks Katherin! So good to see you here! ♥️ ♥️

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  5. Yes, I like Katherin's 'the nobility of the ordinary', however I think it's optimistic to think it's actually 99% who never fought in wars. Judging by the war history I teach. Would be nice...:-)

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    1. That's actually how it feels, doesn't it? Very depressing.

      In 2009, that's the latest year I found figures for - the worldwide number of defence and paramilitary forces were around 77 million out of 6.8 billion world population. It works out to 1.1 %, so just a sliver less than 99% are civilians who don't go to wars :) and of course, not all military personnel see active service, thankfully!

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  6. Hi Nila - your post so resonates ... so little about women, or the children even who could not go. Then those too old - some who actually did contribute reminders about the war effort and those left behind - I'm thinking Bloomsbury Group ... I'll be doing some posts on the art and Sussex life soon. Look forward to reading these others ... cheers Hilary

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    1. Oh, I'm going to love those posts about Sussex life, will be on the lookout for them!

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