Shoulders by Naomi Shihab Nye
Shoulders
Naomi Shihab NyeA man crosses the street in rain,
stepping gently, looking two times north and south,
because his son is asleep on his shoulder.No car must splash him.
No car drive too near to his shadow.This man carries the world’s most sensitive cargo
but he’s not marked.
Nowhere does his jacket say FRAGILE,
HANDLE WITH CARE.His ear fills up with breathing.
He hears the hum of a boy’s dream
deep inside him.We’re not going to be able
to live in this world
if we’re not willing to do what he’s doing
with one another.The road will only be wide.
The rain will never stop falling.
SELECTED BY ERICA MIRIAM FABRI
This poem is timeless. It was published 31 years ago, and it may be one of the most universal poems ever written. The story of the poem is a simple metaphor that speaks to many different hearts. Some readers might see it as a poem about the profound depth of a parents’ love for their child. Knowing the poet is Palestinian, I recognize it as a poem about war, the deep suffering of displaced families, apartheid, and genocide.
At its core, this poem is the greatest moral lesson of life: that we must treat strangers with the same love and kindness that we give to our own beloveds. And if we do not, the world we live in will always be a storm.
ABOUT ERICA MIRIAM FABRI
Erica Miriam Fabri is a NYC-based poet and the author of Dialect of a Skirt (a finalist for the Paterson Poetry Prize) and Morphology (winner of the 2024 Write Bloody Publishing Jack McCarthy Book Prize.) Her poetry has been widely published in magazines, anthologies, and featured in multi-media formats including art installations, short films, and television commercials. She teaches writing at Pace University and for The City University of New York (CUNY).
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SHARED WITH GRATITUDE
This poem appeared in Red Suitcase by Naomi Shihab Nye, published by BOA Editions, Ltd., 1994. (Available on: Amazon • Bookshop)
DESCRIPTION
“Poet, teacher, essayist, anthologist, songwriter and singer, Naomi Shihab Nye is one of the country’s most acclaimed writers. Her voice is generous; her vision true; her subjects ordinary people, and ordinary situations which, when rendered through her language, become remarkable. In this, her fourth full collection of poetry, we see with new eyes-a grandmother’s scarf, an alarm clock, a man carrying his son on his shoulders.” (Source)
ABOUT NAOMI SHIHAB NYE
Naomi Shihab Nye was born on March 12, 1952, in St. Louis to a Palestinian father and an American mother. Nye is the author of numerous poetry collections, including Grace Notes: Poems about Family (Greenwillow Bookss, 2024); Cast Away: Poems for Our Time (Greenwillow Books, 2020); The Tiny Journalist (BOA Editions, Ltd., 2019); Voices in the Air: Poems for Listeners (Greenwillow Books, 2018); Transfer (BOA Editions, Ltd., 2011); You and Yours (BOA Editions, Ltd., 2005) and 19 Varieties… (more)
Read more poems by Naomi Shihab Nye • Find books by this poet on Amazon • Bookshop • Or view my library
ENDNOTES
- This is Day 85 of Poems We Carry, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Read A Little Poetry—a living archive I’ve nurtured for two decades. For this milestone series, I invited writers I deeply admire to share poems that have meant something to them over time.
- Explore other works in pursuit of: compassion • care • protection • Or browse the index
- If this work resonates with you, please consider supporting the archive. Thank you for reading.
mrvanw
I just found your blog and I must say I love it. It is amazing that you have maintained this for so long.
I love this poem, it is new to me and I cannot imagine a time where it was more necessary than now.