PROMOTING TOLERANCE AND UNDERSTANDING WITH POETRY
Pat Ebhohimen, IS Luxembourg
The poems listed below represent a mere fraction of those available. I have indicated the anthologies
in which I found them.
“ALL THINGS NOT CONSIDERED” by Naomi Shihab Nye in 19 varieties of gazelle by Naomi Shihab
Nye, Greenwillow, 2002.
“AMERICA, AMERICA” by Saadi Youssef in Without an alphbet, without a face by Saadi Youssef,
Graywolf, 2002.
“AND THEY OBEY” by Carl Sandburg in Chicago poems by Carl Sandburg, Dover, 1994.
“APPEAL DISMISSED” by Benjamin Zephaniah in POETRY REVIEW: Vol. 91, No. 4, Winter 2001-2.
“AS A BLACKWOMAN” by Maud Sulter in A map of hope: women’s writing on human rights – an
international literary anthology edited by Marjorie Agosin, Rutgers University Press, 1998.
“AX” by Charles Simic in Selected poems: 1963 -1883 by Charles Simic, George Braziller, 1990.
“BEAUTY CONTEST” by Janice Mirikitani in A map of hope: women’s writing on human rights – an
international literary anthology edited by Marjorie Agosin, Rutgers University Press, 1998.
“BEFORE THEIR TANKS” byTawfiq Zayyad in Modern Arabic poetry: an anthology edited by Salma
Khadra Jayyusi, Columbia University Press, 1987.
“BLOOD AND OIL” by Adrian Mitchell in Blue coffee: poems by Adrian Mitchell, Bloodaxe Books,
1996.
“THE BODY POLITIC” by Donald Hall in Truth and lies: an anthology of poems edited by Patrice
Vecchione, Henry Holt, 2001.
“BOTH STRANGERS” by Jamil Sidqi al-Zahawi in Modern Arabic poetry: an anthology edited by Salma
Khadra Jayyusi, Columbia University Press, 1987.
“THE BRITISH” by Benjamin Zephaniah in Wicked world! by Benjamin Zephaniah, Puffin, 2000.
“CAMBODIA” by James Fenton in 101 poems against war edited by Matthew Hollis and Paul Keegan,
Faber and Faber, 2003.
“CAMP CONCENTRATION” by Andrew Fusek Peters and Polly Peters in Poems with attitude by
Andrew Fusek Peters and Polly Peters, Hodder Wayland, 2002.
“THE CHILD OF THE ENEMY” by Ursula Douba in A map of hope: women’s writing on human rights
– an international literary anthology edited by Marjorie Agosin, Rutgers University Press, 1998.
“CHILD’S MEMORY” by Eleni Fourtouni in A map of hope: women’s writing on human rights – an
international literary anthology edited by Marjorie Agosin, Rutgers University Press, 1998.
“CHILD’S PARLIAMENT” by Chenjerai Hove in The Heinemann book of African poetry in English
selected by Adewale Maja-Pearce, Heinemann, 1990.
“CHILDREN OF OUR ERA” by Wislawa Szymborska in Miracle fair: selected poems by Wislawa
Szymborska, W.W. Norton, 2001.
“CHILDREN OF THE SEWERS” by Benjamin Zephaniah in Wicked world! by Benjamin Zephaniah,
Puffin, 2000.
“CHRISTMAS 1992” by John Foster in Standing on the sidelines: original poems by John Foster, Oxford
University Press, 1998.
“CITIZEN OF THE WORLD” by Dave Calder in One river many creeks: poems from all around the
world chosen by Valerie Bloom, Macmillan, 2003.
“THE CORPSE” by Jagannath Prasad Das in The Oxford anthology of modern Indian poetry edited by
Vinay Dharwadker and A.K. Ramanujan, Oxford University Press, 1994.
“CRUSH” by Rita Wong in Truth and lies: an anthology of poems edited by Patrice Vecchione, Henry
Holt, 2001.
“DISPOSESSED WORDS” by Karen Press in The lava of this land: South African poetry 1960 – 1996
edited by Denis Hirson, TriQuarterly Books/Northwestern University Books, 1997.
“DOES IT MATTER?” by Siegfried Sassoon in Peace and war: a collection of poems edited by Michael
Harrison and Christopher Stuart-Clark, Oxford University Press, 1989.
“DON’T TELL A SOUL” by Osip Mandelstam in Truth and lies: an anthology of poems edited by Patrice
Vecchione, Henry Holt, 2001.
“ENCOUNTER” by Grace Akello in A map of hope: women’s writing on human rights – an international
literary anthology edited by Marjorie Agosin, Rutgers University Press, 1998.
“THE END AND THE BEGINNING” by Wislawa Szymborska in Miracle fair: selected poems by
Wislawa Szymborska, W.W. Norton, 2001.
“END OF THE LINE” by John Taylor in Wherever home begins: 100 contemporary poems selected by
Paul P. Janeczko, Orchard, 1995.
“THE EXILE” by Pablo Medina in Outsiders: poems about rebels, exiles and renegades edited by LaureAnne Bosselaar, Milkweed, 1999.
“FACE IT” by Janet S. Wong in A suitcase of seaweed by Janet S. Wong, Margaret McElderry Books,
1996.
“FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE JEWS” by Martin Niemoller in Poem for the day: 366 poems, old and
new, worth learning by heart edited by Nicholas Albery, Chatto & Windus, 2001.
“FOLDING THE SHEETS” by Rosemary Dobson in Poems from many cultures compiled by Fiona
Waters, Evans, 2001.
“FOOTPATH” by Stella Ngatho in This same sky: a collection of poems from around the world edited by
Naomi Shihab Nye, Aladdin, 1992.
“FOREIGN” by Carol Ann Duffy in Here to eternity: an anthology of poetry selected by Andrew Motion,
Faber and Faber, 2001.
“FOUR LITTLE TIGERS” by Frank Jacobs in A world of poetry selected by Michael Rosen, 1991.
“FROM EXILE TO EXILE” by Abd-Allah al-Baraduni in Modern Arabic poetry: an anthology edited by
Salma Khadra Jayyusi, Columbia University Press, 1987.
“FROM THE DIARY OF AN ALMOST-FOUR-YEAR-OLD” by Hanan Mikhaíl Ashrawi in The space
between our footsteps: poems and paintings from the Middle East selected by Naomi Shihab Nye, Simon &
Schuster, 1998.
“From A GERMAN WAR PRIMER” by Bertolt Brecht in War and the pity of war: poems edited by Neil
Philip, Clarion, 1997.
“From THE SIMPLE TRUTH” by Philip Levine in Truth and lies: an anthology of poems edited by
Patrice Vecchione, Henry Holt, 2001.
“HANDBAG” by Ruth Fainlight in Poems on the Underground: anniversary edition edited by Gerard
Benson et al., Cassell, 1996.
“HATRED” by Wislawa Szymborska in Miracle fair: selected poems by Wislawa Szymborska, W.W.
Norton, 2001.
“HOME” by Gustavo Perez-Firmat in Here is my kingdom:Hispanic-American literature and art for
young people edited by Xcharles Sullivan, Harry N. Abrams, 1994.
“HOW SHALL WE DEFEAT THE ENEMY?” by Michael Rosen in Poems for refugees selected by Pippa
Haywood, Vintage, 2002.
“HUMAN FAMILY” by Maya Angelou in I shall not be moved by Maya Angelou, Bantam Books, 1991.
“I DREAM OF A TIME” by John Foster in Standing on the sidelines: original poems by John Foster,
Oxford University Press, 1998.
“I HAVE NO ADDRESS” by Hazma El Din in The flag of childhood: poems from the middle east selected
by Naomi Shihab Nye, Aladdin, 2002.
“IMAGES” by Valerie Larbaud in A book of luminous things: an international anthology of poetry edited
by Czeslaw Milosz, Harcourt Brace, 1996.
“IN DETENTION” by Chris van Wyk in The lava of this land: South African poetry 1960 – 1996 edited
by Denis Hirson, TriQuarterly Books/Northwestern University Books, 1997.
“IN MY COUNTRY ” by Pitika Ntuli in Truth and lies: an anthology of poems edited by Patrice
Vecchione, Henry Holt, 2001.
“IN THE MORNING” by Mary Gutierrez in Salting the ocean: 100 poems by young poets selected by
Naomi Shihab Nye, Greenwillow, 2000.
“IN TIME OF THE BREAKING NATIONS” by Thomas Hardy in Poems for refugees selected by Pippa
Haywood, Vintage, 2002.
“INCIDENT” by Countee Cullen in A child’s anthology of poetry edited by Elizabeth Hauge Sword and
Victoria Flournoy McCarthy, Ecco Press, 1995.
“INDIAN MOTHER” by Rosario Castellanos in A map of hope: women’s writing on human rights – an
international literary anthology edited by Marjorie Agosin, Rutgers University Press, 1998.
“AN IRISH AIRMAN FORESEES HIS DEATH” by William Butler Yeats in War and the pity of war:
poems edited by Neil Philip, Clarion, 1997.
“IT IS DANGEROUS TO READ NEWSPAPERS” by Margaret Atwood in Here to eternity: an anthology of
poetry selected by Andrew Motion, Faber and Faber, 2001.
“JERUSALEM” by Yehuda Amichai in This same sky: a collection of poems from around the world edited
by Naomi Shihab Nye, Aladdin, 1992.
“THE LAST ELECTION” by John Hainel in The best American poetry 1999 edited by Robert Bly ,
Scribner, 1999.
“LETTER FROM A CONTRACT WORKER” by Antonio Jacinto in The Penguin book of modern African
poetry edited by Gerald Moore and Ulli Beier, Penguin, 1998.
“LIES” by Yevgeny Yevtushenko in Truth and lies: an anthology of poems edited by Patrice Vecchione,
Henry Holt, 2001.
“LIKE A WHEEL” by Oupa Thando Mthimkulu in The lava of this land: South African poetry 1960 –
1996 edited by Denis Hirson, TriQuarterly Books/Northwestern University Books, 1997.
“LISTENING FOR THUNDER” by Nancy Wood in Sacred fire: poetry and prose by Nancy Wood,
Doubleday, 1998.
“LUNCH IN NABLUS CITY PARK” by Naomi Shihab Nye in A chorus for peace: a global anthology of
poetry by women edited by Marilyn Arnold and others, University of Iowa Prss, 2002.
“A LYRIC IN EXILE” by Hussein Elhami in Americans’ favorite poems edited by Robert Pinsky and
Maggie Dietz , W.W. Norton, 2000.
“MAKE BELIEVE” by Gerda Mayer in Is that the new moon?: poems by women poets collected by Wendy
Cope , Collins, 2002.
“THE MINEFIELD” by Diane Thiel in The best American poetry 1999 edited by Robert Bly , Scribner,
1999..
“MISS ROSIE” by Lucille Clifton in 100 great poems by women edited by Carolyn Kizer, Ecco Press,
1995.
“MONEY ORDER” by Janet S. Wong in A suitcase of seaweed by Janet S. Wong, Margaret McElderry
Books, 1996.
“THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SOUND IN THE WORLD?” by Kadija Sesay in One river many creeks:
poems from all around the world chosen by Valerie Bloom, Macmillan, 2003.
“MOTHER IN WARTIME” by Langston Hughes in The panther and the lash by Langston Hughes,
Vintage, 1992.
“MOVING COUNTRY” by Jackie Kay in One river many creeks: poems from all around the world
chosen by Valerie Bloom, Macmillan, 2003.
“MY FATHER AND MOTHER OR WHY I BEGAN TO HATE WAR” by Adrian Mitchell in Blue coffee:
poems by Adrian Mitchell, Bloodaxe Books, 1996.
“NO PROBLEM” by Benjamin Zephaniah in Poems from many cultures compiled by Fiona Waters,
Evans, 2001.
“NORTH AMERICAN TIME” by Adrienne Rich in A map of hope: women’s writing on human rights – an
international literary anthology edited by Marjorie Agosin, Rutgers University Press, 1998.
“THE OLD MAN SAID: ONE” by Gogisgi/Carroll Arnett in Truth and lies: an anthology of poems edited
by Patrice Vecchione, Henry Holt, 2001.
“ON THE DEATH OF A FRIEND” by Khan Singh Kumar in POETRY REVIEW: Vol. 91, No. 3,
Autumn 2001.
“ON TV…” by Lyle Glazier in Outsiders: poems about rebels, exiles and renegades edited by Laure-Anne
Bosselaar, Milkweed, 1999.
“ONE FOUR ALL” by Benjamin Zephaniah in Wicked world! by Benjamin Zephaniah, Puffin, 2000.
“ONE QUESTION FROM A BULLET” by John Agard in A world of poetry selected by Michael Rosen,
Kingfisher, 1995.
“THE PALESTINIANS HAVE GIVEN UP PARTIES” by Naomi Shihab Nye in 19 varieties of gazelle by
Naomi Shihab Nye, Greenwillow, 2002.
“PEACE” by Yannis Ritsos in Breaking free: an anthology of human rights poetry edited by Robert Hull,
Thomson Learning, 1995.
“POEMS ABOUT PRISON: 1” by Dennis Brutus in The Penguin book of modern African poetry edited
by Gerald Moore and Ulli Beier, Penguin, 1998.
“THE PRISON CELL” by Mahmud Darwish in This same sky: a collection of poems from around the
world edited by Naomi Shihab Nye, Aladdin, 1992.
“PSALM” by Wislawa Szymborska in Miracle fair: selected poems by Wislawa Szymborska, W.W.
Norton, 2001.
“(QUATRAIN)” by Sarah Cleghorn in 100 great poems by women edited by Carolyn Kizer, Ecco Press,
1995.
“THE RAINY DAY” by Rabindranath Tagore in Collected poems and plays of Rabindranath Tagore,
Macmillan, 1964.
“REALITY DEMANDS” by Wislawa Szymborska in Miracle fair: selected poems by Wislawa
Szymborska, W.W. Norton, 2001.
“REFUGEE BLUES” by W.H. Auden in Breaking free: an anthology of human rights poetry edited by
Robert Hull, Thomson Learning, 1995.
“REPORT FROM A PLANET” by Richmond Lattimore in Fifty years of American poetry edited by the
Academy of American Poets, Harry N. Abrams, 1984.
“REVENGE” by Luis Enrique Mejia Godoy in Poems for refugees selected by Pippa Haywood, Vintage,
2002.
“A RIOT POLICEMAN” by Chris van Wyk in The lava of this land: South African poetry 1960 – 1996
edited by Denis Hirson, TriQuarterly Books/Northwestern University Books, 1997.
“RWANDA” by AI in A chorus for peace: a global anthology of poetry by women edited by Marilyn
Arnold and others, University of Iowa Prss, 2002.
“SHAME” by Vern Rutsala in Outsiders: poems about rebels, exiles and renegades edited by Laure-Anne
Bosselaar, Milkweed, 1999.
“SHOULDERS” by Naomi Shihab Nye in Red suitcase: poems by Naomi Shihab Nye, BOA Editions,
1994.
“THE SLUMS” by George Campbell in West Indian poetry: an anthology for schools edited by Kenneth
Ramchand and Cecil Gray, Longman, 1989.
“SO I’M PROUD” by Jean Little in Voices: poetry and art from around the world selected by Barbara
Brenner, National Geographic, 2000.
“SOMETIMES WHEN IT RAINS” by Gcina Mhlophe in The Penguin book of modern African poetry
edited by Gerald Moore and Ulli Beier, Penguin, 1998.
“SONG” by Muriel Rukeyser in A map of hope: women’s writing on human rights – an international
literary anthology edited by Marjorie Agosin, Rutgers University Press, 1998.
“THE SORROW OF SARAJEVO” by Goran Simic in 101 poems against war edited by Matthew Hollis
and Paul Keegan, Faber and Faber, 2003.
“SPARED” by Wendy Cope in Poems for refugees selected by Pippa Haywood, Vintage, 2002.
“STILL LIFE” by Diane Ackerman in The body eclectic: an anthology of poems edited by Patrice
Vecchione, Henry Holt, 2002.
“THE TERRORIST, HE’S WATCHING” by Wislawa Szymborska in Poems new and collected 1957 1997 by Wislawa Szymborska, Faber and Faber, 1998.
“THINKING ABOUT BILL, DEAD OF AIDS” by Miller Williams in The body eclectic: an anthology of
poems edited by Patrice Vecchione, Henry Holt, 2002.
“THIRD DEGREE” by Langston Hughes in The panther and the lash by Langston Hughes, Vintage,
1992.
“THOSE PEOPLE” by Wislawa Szymborska in POETRY REVIEW: Vol. 91, No. 3, Autumn 2001.
“TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT” by Robbie Butler in Lines in the sand: new writing on war and peace
edited by Mary Hoffman and Rhiannon Lassiter, Frances Lincoln, 2003.
“TO THE UNKNOWN COMBATTANT” by Mervyn Morris in West Indian poetry: an anthology for
schools edited by Kenneth Ramchand and Cecil Gray, Longman, 1989.
“TORTURE” by Wislawa Szymborska in Miracle fair: selected poems by Wislawa Szymborska, W.W.
Norton, 2001.
“TOUCHING” by Nissim Ezekiel in Around the world in eighty poems selected by James Berry,
Macmillan, 2001.
“THE TROPICS IN NEW YORK” by Claude McKay in Songs for the open road: poems of travel and
adventure edited by the American Poetry and Literacy Project, Dover, 1999.
“THE TURN OF THE CENTURY” by Wislawa Szymborska in Miracle fair: selected poems by Wislawa
Szymborska, W.W. Norton, 2001.
“TV WARS (1991 VERSION)” by John Foster in Standing on the sidelines: original poems by John
Foster, Oxford University Press, 1998.
“UNDER THIS SKY” by Zia Hyder in This same sky: a collection of poems from around the world edited
by Naomi Shihab Nye, Aladdin, 1992.
“THE UNKNOWN CITIZEN (TO JS/07/M/378 THIS MARBLE MONUMENT IS ERECTED BY THE
STATE)” by W.H. Auden in Collected poems by W. H. Auden, Vintage, 1991.
“WAGES” by D. H. Lawrence in Here to eternity: an anthology of poetry selected by Andrew Motion,
Faber and Faber, 2001.
“WAR AND THE SIMPSONS” by Hilary McKay in Lines in the sand: new writing on war and peace
edited by Mary Hoffman and Rhiannon Lassiter, Frances Lincoln, 2003.
“WAR PHOTOGRAPH” by Kate Daniels in A chorus for peace: a global anthology of poetry by women
edited by Marilyn Arnold and others, University of Iowa Prss, 2002.
“WARS” by Carl Sandburg in Chicago poe