Mark Jarman
Mark Jarman was born in Mount Sterling, Kentucky, on June 5, 1952. He earned a BA from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1974 and an MFA from the University of Iowa in 1976.
Poet Mark Jarman won the 1998 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize
In 1999 he wrote a poem by the name of "A Tale of Two Cities".This was written following my reading of the Dickens book of the same name, set in London and Paris during the French Revolution.He depicts the tragedy of hiroshima and nagasaki.
It was the best of times;
It was the worst of times.
It was the age of wisdom;
It was the age of madness.
It was the era of belief;
It was the era of doubt.
We had everything to gain;
We had nothing to gain.
It was the season of Light;
It was the season of Darkness.
It was the Spring of hope;
It was the Winter of despair.
We had everything before us;
We had nothing before us.
We were all going direct to heaven;
We were all going direct to hell.
Do you like it?
Yes we do
Are you happy?
We’re so happy now.
Recalled to life?
Yes it’s true!
You had time to change your mind, now there’s no turning back.
Red wine has stained,
the blood of men.
Hunger and pain,
and their time will come.
The grindstone turns,
once again.
Why should we be blamed for this, our forefathers’ bliss.
Footsteps echo on the path below.
As people watch their new cross put on its show.
And the Rings of Saturn roll along the street.