this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war and other disasters
cross-posted at DailyKos, Booman Tribune, European Tribune, and My Left Wing.
image and poem below the fold
William Allers, Jr., second left, is handed the flag that draped the coffin of his son, Staff Sgt. William A. Allers III, 28, by Maj. Gen. Donald Storm, left, during a funeral ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2005, in Arlington, Va. Staff Sgt. Allers, who was assigned to the Army National Guard’s 198th Military Police Battalion, 75th Troop Command, Louisville, Ky., died in the vicinity of Khalis, north of Baghdad, Iraq, Sept. 20 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his convoy vehicle. Others are from right to left; Sgt. Allers’ son Gregory Allers, 8, grandmother Naomi Virginia Allers, brother David, and pregnant widow Bethany Rowan.
(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
from Gone Again
by Patti Smith
one last breath
the sky is high
the hungry earth
the empty vein
the ashes rain
death’s own bed
man’s own kin
into the wind
one last breath
hole in life
love knot tied
braid undone
child born
the hollow horn
warrior cried
a warrior died
one last breath
lick of flame
spirit moaned
spirit shed
the heavens fed
man’s own kin
grips the sky
and he’s gone again
Hey now man’s own kin
we lay down into the wind
grateful arms grateful limbs
grateful heart he’s gone again
Hey now man’s own kin
he ascends into the wind
grateful heart grateful limbs
grateful man he’s gone again
– – –
support the Iraqi people
support the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC)
support CARE
support the victims of torture
remember the fallen
support the fallen
support the troops
support the troops and the Iraqi people
read This is what John Kerry did today, the diary by lawnorder that prompted this series
read Riverbend’s Bagdhad Burning
read Dahr Jamail’s Iraq Dispatches
read Today in Iraq
Leonard Clark’s blog has been taken down
witness every day
