this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war and other disasters
we honor courage in all its forms
cross-posted at DailyKos, Booman Tribune, European Tribune, and My Left Wing.
image and poem below the fold
In a photo provided by family Army Pfc. Peter D. Wagler, 18, who was assigned to the 1st Batallion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team stationed at Fort Hood, Texas is shown. He served with the Multi-National Division in Baghdad. Wagler died from injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Iraq on Monday, Jan. 23, 2006.
(AP Photo/The Hutchinson News, via Wagler family)
Footprints
by Parker Towle
mark the fine red sand beside the trail: a man’s
shoe, horse’s hooves, a paw. Navaho
sandstone looms four hundred feet
to either side streaked white by sea stones,
not snow, striated like sacks of old coins
pocked as with claw prints of quaint
cretaceous birds.
A partridge flushes through
pale blue sage brush. Shadow strikes my face
like a blade of ice. Close to a canyon wall
the stone abrades my fingertips.
A chipmunk
leaves a puff of dust across my path. I turn
back through black volcanic caves, lose
my way for a moment, hum, “All
through the Night,” over and over, hear
bubbling water deep beneath my feet,
enter my history, inscriptions
in the sand.
– – –
put a meaningful magnet on your car or metal filing cabinet
read Ilona’s important diary at MLW – Returning Vet PTSD – One Soldier’s Story as well her comprehensive series on PTSD and Iraq War vets.
view the pbs newshour silent honor roll (with thanks to jimstaro at booman.)
take a private moment to light one candle among many (with thanks to TXSharon)
support Veterans for Peace
support the Iraqi people
support the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC)
support CARE
support the victims of torture
remember the fallen
support Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors – TAPS
support Gold Star Families for Peace
support the fallen
support the troops
support Iraq Veterans Against the War
support Military families Speak Out
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
witness every day
