Episode #023 United - Naomi Shihab Nye

Connor and Jack dig into a fun, funny poem with deep undercurrents: "United" by Naomi Shihab Nye. Connor asks all the right questions, and Jack goes on another riff about the American west. For more on Naomi Shihab Nye: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/naomi-shihab-nye To read the poem, go to: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/united United By: Naomi Shihab Nye When sleepless, it’s helpful to meditate on mottoes of the states. South Carolina, “While I breathe I hope.” Perhaps this could be the new flag on the empty flagpole. Or “I Direct” from Maine—why? Because Maine gets the first sunrise? How bossy, Maine! Kansas, “To the Stars through Difficulties”— clackety wagon wheels, long, long land and the droning press of heat—cool stars, relief. In Arkansas, “The People Rule”—lucky you. Idaho, “Let It Be Perpetual”—now this is strange. Idaho, what is your “it”? Who chose these lines? How many contenders? What would my motto be tonight, in tangled sheets? Texas—“Friendship”—now boasts the Open Carry law. Wisconsin, where my mother’s parents are buried, chose “Forward.” New Mexico, “It Grows As It Goes”—now this is scary. Two dangling its. This does not represent that glorious place. West Virginia, “Mountaineers Are Always Free”—really? Washington, you’re wise. What could be better than “By and By”? Oklahoma must be tired—“Labor Conquers all Things.” Oklahoma, get together with Nevada, who chose only “Industry” as motto. I think of Nevada as a playground or mostly empty. How wrong we are about one another. For Alaska to pick “North to the Future” seems odd. Where else are they going? Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/close-talking/id1185025517?mt=2 Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at [email protected].

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