30

In the subway car all are reading intently
their newspapers;
students of current events, no doubt.
War in Viet Nam, crisis in the Middle East, clashes between
            the Russians and the Chinese.
But when the train reaches the station at the race-track,
young and old rush out;
they have been merely students of the racing-charts, it seems.

But not all:
one man remains seated,
pencil in hand,
deep in thought—
doing a cross-word puzzle.

Return to By the Well of Living and Seeing and the Fifth Book of the Maccabees

Material from
POEMS 1918-1975: THE COMPLETE POEMS OF CHARLES REZNIKOFF Copyright © 1977
by Marie Syrkin Reznikoff and reprinted with the permission of Black Sparrow Press.