That the artist's struggle for integrity is a
kind of metaphor for the universal and daily
struggle for all human beings on the face of this
terrifying globe to get to become human beings

It is not our fault, not my fault that I write

I would never have come before you in the
position of a complainant for something I must do

What we might get at this evening, if we are lucky
If the mic doesn't fail, if my voice holds out
is what the importance of this effort is

I want to suggest two propositions

The first one is that the poets
by which I mеan all artists
are the only peoplе who know the truth about us

Soldiers don't
Statesmen don't
Priests don't
Union leaders don't
Only the poets
That is my first proposition