Washington Woodward

The life he could recall

Was not worth recalling,

Somewhat famously wrote

Donald Hall, recalling

His grandfather’s cousin,

Who was an obsessive.

Steve Edwards recently

Took Hall to task for this,

For punching down, for sheer

Judgmental cruelty,

And for likely missing

A disability.

But what’s any judgment

In the end but unfair?

It’s an unfair species

That monitors fairness

Obsessively and outs

Both weirdos and villains.

Many have felt, themselves,

The life they could recall

Was not worth recalling.

Fear motivated Hall,

Most likely, for himself,

As much as revulsion.

One of death’s strange beauties

Is one of life’s horrors—

In one or the other,

One’s own life will not be

Within reach of recall

For the one who’s lived it.

Eventually, no life

That you can recall will

Be worth much recalling,

Then none at all. That’s why

It’s cruel to name one—all

End worth as much recall.