[Critique Group 2] Leonard's comments on Alice's sub

[Leonard Tuchyner]

This poem is  poignant . 

It is worked around a common theme. 

The phrase, he  ain’t heavy, 

he’s my  …. 

She gives several examples of how itis easy to bare the burden of  others welove. 

I think it  works very well. 

Enough to cause a tear to form inthis reader’s eye. 

Cudos to Alice for  this one.

 

Alice sub for Feb 233 

 

 

Father Flanagan, founder of BoysTown in 1917,

found in an issue of IDEALS magazine

the picture of a boy carrying hisbrother.

The caption read:

“He ain’t heavy: 

he’s my brother.”

 

In the 1938 movie BOYS TOWN,

the famous line became:

“He ain’t heavy, Father:

he’s my brother.”

 

In 1969, “HE Ain’t Heavy, He’s MyBrother”

was recorded by Kelly Gordon andthen by the Hollies.

In 1970, the song,

based on the slogan of Boys Town,

became a hit of Neil Diamond.

With tears, I heard Neil Diamondsing

“He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” 

at two live concerts—

one at Sycamore Showcase in TerreHaute, Indiana,

on the campus of Indiana StateUniversity

and another time on the campus ofIndiana University (Bloomington).

 

To become an Army Ranger,

my younger nephew had to be able tocarry a fellow soldier

back to safety 

as part of a drill.

“He ain’t heavy:

he’s my fellow Ranger.”

How many times he had to live thismotto

during eleven months in Iraq

and three months in Afghanistan,

an aunt will never know.

 

Once when my second guide dog,

my Yellow Lab Heather,

had old bones that were too weary toexit a cab,

one hundred pounds of me

tried to pick up

sixty-two pounds of faithful LeaderDog

to help her out of the cab.

“She wasn’t heavy:

she was my devoted guide.”

 

On January 29, my youngestgreat-nephew

who has only one speed—full out—

roller skated straight into a wall

and sustained a spiral fracture.

His leg is in a cast from mid-thigh

To his toes.

I told his daddy—

the Army Ranger—

“Since you are lifting Caden somuch,

you will not have to lift weights atthe gym.”

My nephew replied that hisfirst-grader and the cast

are not heavy at all.

“He ain’t heavy:

He’s my son.”  

 

Number of words:  322

 

February 16, 2023, Thursday

For critique session of Group 2 onFebruary 23, 2023, Thursday, at 3:00 p.m., Eastern Time

 

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https://bluegrasspals.




 
 
Leonard I. Tuchyner, Author
 
https://www.dldbooks.com/tuchyner/

 
  
 
 

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