Song of the Vanquished: And Other Poems

By Fred W.

The world is not perfect; in his newest poetry collection, Song of the Vanquished, author Fred W. Herman presents a series of verses that explore these imperfections.

Employing end rhyme in many of the selections, the haunting themes speak to the injustices of war, hatred, death, prejudice, bigotry, and evil. The poem The Perfect Excuse tackles intolerance and hate:

The Perfect Excuse

If their looks are not like ours,
We are compelled to hate them.
And if their gods are different,
We are advised to kill them.

And if their hair should be more curly,
Or their chests appear more burly,
That will make them different.
So we go out and kill them.

And if their speech keeps us perturbed
For hours,
Or their manners are not like ours,
That will make them different.
So we set out to kill them.

And when some writers books are different,
The mobs are urged to hate them.
For writers are not like us,
So the mobs are urged to lynch them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Feb 9, 2011
• ISBN: 9781426948695

Fred W.

Fred W. Herman holds BA and MA degrees in English, has lived and studied in Europe and South America, and has taught modern languages in various colleges in an adjunct capacity. Now retired, he lives in Worthington, Ohio.

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© Copyright 2011 Fred W. Herman.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

Printed in the United States of America.

isbn: 978-1-4269-4868-8 (sc)

isbn: 978-1-4269-4869-5 (e)

Trafford rev. 01/11/2011

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By the same author:

Brazilian Tears and Other Poems

Trafford, 2009

Biography:

Fred Herman holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in English, has lived and studied in Europe and South America, and has taught modern languages in various colleges in an adjunct capacity.

To my wife Alice, whose endless patience and support made this work possible.

Water cleanses everything,

except the language of

those who try to rule us.

(From a Brazilian Song)

Contents

I Revelation

II The Perfect Excuse

III The Lower Orders

IV The Tempest

V The Modern Mind

VI Sound of the Righteous

VII Song of the Vanquished

VIII A Refugee’s Tale In three Parts

IX Part 1 The Liberation

X Part 2 The Distant Rumble

XI Part 3 The Mindless Act

XII The Prisoner

XIII The Fugitive

XIV Freedom at Last

XV The Premonition

XVI Meeting at the Cross-Roads