“[I]n times of crisis it’s interesting that people don’t turn to the novel or say, ‘We should all go out to a movie,’ or ‘Ballet would help us.’ It’s always poetry. What we want to hear is a human voice speaking directly in our ear.”
Billy Collins, U.S. Poet Laureate (2001-2003) speaking to the New York Times, as quoted in The Dead Beat by Marilyn Johnson
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, My Left Wing, and TexasKos.
image and poem below the fold
An Iraqi street cleaner collects shoes following a suicide attack against police in the southern Iraqi town of Hilla, 100km (60 miles) south of Baghdad May 30, 2005. As if removing dead dogs, collecting trash and hosing down bloodstained pavements were not enough, street cleaners in Baghdad face a lethal enemy lurking underneath mounds of garbage — bombs.
(Ali Abu Shish/Reuters)
from Evening Walk as the School Year Starts
by Sydney Lea
It’s some awful stink nearby that draws the raven,
but the rest of the world seems fixed on the morbid too:
a squirrel keeps pouring spruce cones down at me;
a gall-blighted butternut groans; the broadleafs wilt;
there’s a pair of toads at my feet that wheels have flattened
side by side, like cartoon icons of failure;
mosquitoes strafe me, a mammoth dragonfly–
one of the season’s last–attacks a moth
– – –
Join CIVIC’s “I Care” photo campaign
put a meaningful magnet on your car or metal filing cabinet
read Ilona’s important new blog – PTSD Combat
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
Click on the candle to copy the image into your own comment (you can leave it on my server), and/or rate this one – not for mojo, but to leave a small mark after taking this moment.
” I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.”
from Dirge Without Music
by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Blasts kill 14 at Baghdad airport
Light A Candle For
Peace, Tolerance, Understanding
and For The Children – Innocence Lost!
Pair help Iraq veterans ‘survive peace’
Than visit the site Dedicated To Save Lives after this Tragedy!!!!
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GI Special 4E14 Bush Approval Rating Down Again.pdf
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NOT YOUR SOLDIER
A MUST SEE VIDEO, Tying Today to ‘Sir! No Sir!’, Pass It On!!
~~~~~~
Peace
Today we think of all Mothers especially affected by the crazy war in Iraq.
Today the deadliest. 26 in addition to the 70 tortured bodies that were brought to the morgue.
Al Jazeera is reporting a Big Row has developed, delaying Iraq cabinet talks, as ‘an influential Shia bloc member threatens to form a government unilaterally if rival groups do not scale back their demands on cabinet posts.’
Accusing the US of meddling, Bahaa al-Araji set a two day deadline before the 130 alliance deputies act unilaterally
Partitioning is next.
The real holiday was about anti-War. A day to wage peace. For women to stand up and say no more war.
I think I’m one of a few who really is eaten up by how this country shits on women so much it actually makes others think this is a holiday about gifts and cake.
…
Each mother day, I feel more alone.
I think it is going to take bloodshed and lots of it sadly for Americans to quit being so selfish and apathetic for us to really come together and demand an end to this sickness of killing and war.
I am so sorry. I can’t wish anyone a Happy Mother’s Day not when so many have lost their child due to war.
Sitting on the side line watching the MOther’s dday parade pass her by.
“…sitting on the sidelines.” You’re right in the thick of things.
You’re a GREAT mom.
I haven’t been posting in Rub’s diaries lately b/c I feel like my flower icon is disrespectful … but I’m going to post this comment to you DJ. You are what all mothers should be. You are passionate and caring and you’re teaching your children so much about the world and how to live in it. You DO Janet. You act, you inspire. I know that it’s heartbreaking to see so much pain with no end in sight, and to think of the superficiality of celebrating mothers w/ gifts and cake when women’s rights are being stripped and their children are dying in this crazy war. I don’t have any answers here, don’t really know how to make it better — but I wanted to acknowledge your pain and let you know how I see you. {{{{{{{DJ}}}}}}}
Flowers are just fine in here. I usually post or shine a candle or post a pink flower. I hope to see your beautiful flowers in here. We all could use them.
It had been a long, hard week for me. Which culiminated in some protest stuff as well as personal issues. It does something to you to hear strangers call you filthy names. I don’t engage when I’m alone and this happens but you can’t help feel a sting when it happens.
I read reports from CP from Washington DC. Setting up plans for other events… and then I called my own mom… and then me and the kids watched two hockey games on tv.