A poem written by an Arlington student in response to John Steinbeck's acceptance of the Nobel Prize:
Arise, soldier of the pen, for there is a battle
Of the heart and soul
Still yet to be fought.
Mount yourself on your
Noble steeds of justice
And human goodness, for the powers
Of god lie within the limits
Of the human race!
A dark time is ahead
And within us now, rearing it’s ugly head towards
the center of human innocence, wisdom, and
the qualities that define Our Good.
Therefore, it is up to you, o soldier
Of the pen, to define the limits
Of unscrupulousness, to defend yourself
And others, with parables and words
Of wisdom, and words
Of encouragement, so that in the end, what you do will
Not be stripped of its fertile essence
As was the man who made the
Battle cry of the writer, being whatever
You may choose it to be,
More necessary than ever.
For remember this: Man, as he is able
To inflict wounds, and heal them in a flash,
Is neither a friend or enemy, but both.
~Nishi Peters
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