What is the Beautiful?
by Kenneth Patchen
The narrowing line.
Walking on the burning ground.
The ledges of stone.
Owlfish wading near the horizon.
Unrest in the outer districts.
Pause.
And begin again.
Needles through the eye.
Bodies cracked open like nuts.
Must have a place.
Dog has a place.
Pause.
And begin again.
Tents in the sultry weather.
Rifles hate holds.
Who is right?
Was Christ?
Is it wrong to love all men?
Pause.
And begin again.
Contagion of murder.
But the small whip hits back.
This is my life, Caesar.
I think it is good to live.
Pause.
And begin again.
Perhaps the shapes will open.
Will flying fly?
Will singing have a song?
Will the shapes of evil fall?
Will the lives of men grow clean?
Will the power be for good?
Will the power of man find its sun?
Will the power of man flame as a sun?
Will the power of man turn against death?
Who is right?
Is war?
Pause.
And begin again.
A narrow line.
Walking on the beautiful ground.
A ledge of fire.
It would take little to be free.
That no man hate another man,
Because he is black;
Because he is yellow;
Because he is white;
Or because he is English;
Or German;
Or rich;
Or poor;
Because we are everyman.
Pause.
And begin again.
It would take little to be free.
That no man live at the expense of another.
Because no man can own what belongs to all.
Because no man can kill what all must use.
Because no man can lie when all are betrayed.
Because no man can hate when all are hated.
And begin again.
I know that the shapes will open.
Flying will fly, and singing will sing.
Because the only power of man is in good.
And all evil shall fail.
Because evil does not work.
Because the white man and the black man.
The Englishman and the German,
Are not real things.
They are only pictures of things.
Their shapes, like the shapes of the tree
And the flower, have no lives in names or signs;
They are their lives, and the real is in them.
And what is real shall have life always.
Pause.
I believe in the truth.
I believe that every good thought I have,
All men shall have.
I believe that what is best in me,
Shall be found in every man.
I believe that only the beautiful
Shall survive on the earth.
I believe that the perfect shape of everything
Has been prepared;
And, that we do not fit our own
Is of little consequence.
Man beckons to man on this terrible road.
I believe that we are going into the darkness now;
Hundreds of years will pass before the light
Shines over the world of all men…
And I am blinded by its splendor.
Pause.
And begin again.
Maria Haskins 
I first read this poem in an article by my thesis advisor for John Milton, the late Dr. John Shawcross. He meant it to represent the movement of the Israelites, always aiming towards, but not quite reaching, God. It has hung in my memory ever since, and has bobbed to the surface in many essays I have written.
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Kenneth was one of our most brilliant Lights. If I recall correctly, few of the major publishers would even consider his writings in his earliest years. Most of his early books were published by New Directions. Lawrence Ferlinghetti knew geniuses when he encountered them. And dearest Kenneth was so far ahead in his recognition of NONDUALITY, and the Sisterhood & Brotherhood of all Beings. His message to us 70+ years later is so compelling, so transforming, so threatening to the Oligarchs who are dominated by Greed, Lust, Gluttony, Pride, etc. For any Satyagrahi imprisoned unjustly I would recommend a copy of the Collected Poems of Kenneth Patchen. The best “pillow book” I can imagine….
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