this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war

we love and support our troops, just as we love and support the Iraqi people – without exception, or precondition, or judgement.

image and poem below the fold

Iraqis view the site of a suicide car bomber attack, in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday Aug. 31, 2006. A suicide car bomber targeting a Baghdad gas station killed two people and wounded 13 on Thursday, a day after dozens died across the country as the U.S. President insisted American troops must stay in Iraq until the job is done.
(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Ramallah
by Bei Dao
translated by Eliot Weinberger and Iona Man-Cheong

in Ramallah
the ancients play chess in the starry sky
the endgame flickers
a bird locked in a clock
jumps out to tell the time

in Ramallah
the sun climbs over the wall like an old man
and goes through the market
throwing mirror light on
a rusted copper plate

in Ramallah
gods drink water from earthen jars
a bow asks a string for directions
a boy sets out to inherit the ocean
from the edge of the sky

in Ramallah
seeds sown along the high noon
death blossoms outside my window
resisting, the tree takes on a hurricane’s
violent original shape

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