Epitaph for Ben Sonnenberg

Epitaph for Ben Sonnenberg

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But still!
being but a tree
one cannot ask them
pines touched by his sleeve’s passing
where to go
I know not
when he was buried
glancing over the land
going up that road
("to wait for a faraway person" sounding like the word for "pines")
under the pines
when spring came along the road
my beloved prince
he will have been perfect
while the shining days are piled up
how strangely awful
to utter it
on the death and burial of one prince
this is a song.
This is a song on the death and burial of one prince
to utter it how strangely awful
while the shining days are piled up
he will have been perfect my beloved prince
when spring came along the road under the pines
(the word for "pines" sounding like the word "to wait for a faraway person")
going up that road, glancing over the land
when he was buried
I know not where to go
pines touched by his sleeve’s passing one cannot ask them
being but a tree, but still!

We cannot back down

We now confront a second Trump presidency.

There’s not a moment to lose. We must harness our fears, our grief, and yes, our anger, to resist the dangerous policies Donald Trump will unleash on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as journalists and writers of principle and conscience.

Today, we also steel ourselves for the fight ahead. It will demand a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis, and humane resistance. We face the enactment of Project 2025, a far-right supreme court, political authoritarianism, increasing inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis, and conflicts abroad. The Nation will expose and propose, nurture investigative reporting, and stand together as a community to keep hope and possibility alive. The Nation’s work will continue—as it has in good and not-so-good times—to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth-telling and deep reporting, and to further solidarity in a nation divided.

Armed with a remarkable 160 years of bold, independent journalism, our mandate today remains the same as when abolitionists first founded The Nation—to uphold the principles of democracy and freedom, serve as a beacon through the darkest days of resistance, and to envision and struggle for a brighter future.

The day is dark, the forces arrayed are tenacious, but as the late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

I urge you to stand with The Nation and donate today.

Onwards,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

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