Back to Poems from the Hoot

We Hoot regulars are all very pleased and grateful that Hugh Harter has returned to the Hoot after the recent death of his beloved wife Fran. In May he read a haunting poem that mixes the voices of an adult and a child. In his introduction he said that the poem was inspired by hearing a black opera singer perform several old Negro spirituals.

            The Little Boy

            Little boy, little boy, what do you know?

            What do you know, little boy, what do you know?

            What do you know, little boy, what have you seen?

            What do you know, little boy, about this big world?

            Have you looked at the sky?

            Have you seen the dark clouds?

            Have you shaken in fear as you searched for the sun?

            What do you know, little boy, what does it mean?

            What do you know, little boy, what have you learned?

            Told how to think, little boy, how to discern?

            Told about color? Told black and white?

            Told what to see in the black of the night

            When your heart only sees the joy of the light?

            I saw only sunshine and clear blue in the sky.

            I saw only beauty when I looked at the clouds.

            I saw only love in another child’s eyes.

            That’s what I saw, and that’s what I know.

            That’s what I know. That’s all that I know.

                                                – Hugh A. Harter

With its many repetitions and steady beat, the poem carries the hypnotic power of a nursery rhyme. We are in the magical world of a child’s mind encountering life and nature, while hearing adult voices seeking to guide and warn. There is the parent teaching a young boy about race -- “Told about color? Told black and white?” -- but also I think suggesting the presence of other kinds of darkness and loss that every child will experience later in life. And yet, in spite of the inevitable confusions and sorrows, there is a reminder to hold onto, to not forget, the beauty, joy, and love still present if we look.

– Harvey Shepard

                                                                                                        (hshepard@gmail.com)

“The Little Boy” copyright 2006 by Hugh A. Harter. Hugh and his wife moved to Portsmouth in 2003 after years of living and working in New York City and other foreign and American cities. He has been a professor of Spanish and French at several major universities, as well as authoring, co-authoring and translating books on the literature and cultures of France, Spain, and Latin America.