Progress Pond

Iraq War Grief Daily Witness (photo) Day 505

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 judgment

we have no sympathy for the devil

we acknowledge the power to act that is in us

cross-posted at MyLeftWing, BooMan Tribune, and my blog.

image and poem below the fold


Insurgents lie dead with a live hand grenade besides them in Ramadi during an operation to clear insurgents on Wednesday, March 28, 2007, in Ramadi, Iraq, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad. Iraqi soldiers shot the men, one of them holding a grenade, as the men tried to attack a house. They died during a US-Iraqi house-to-house sweep through what American commanders said was one of this city’s last insurgent strongholds. The operation ended with rooftop gunfights, airstrikes and dead guerrillas on the streets.
(AP Photo/Todd Pitman)

from [American Journal]
by Robert Hayden

here among them     the americans     this baffling

multi people     extremes and variegations     their

noise     restlessness     their almost frightening

energy     how best describe these aliens in my

reports to The Counselors

disguise myself in order to study them unobserved

adapting their varied pigmentations     white black

red brown yellow     the imprecise and strangering

distinctions by which they live     by which they

justify their cruelties to one another

charming savages     enlightened primitives     brash

new comers lately sprung up in our galaxy     how

describe them     do they indeed know what or who

they are     do not seem to     yet no other beings

in the universe make more extravagant claims

for their importance and identity

. . .

confess i am curiously drawn     unmentionable     to

the americans     doubt i could exist among them for

long however     psychic demands far too severe

much violence     much that repels     i am attracted

none the less     their variousness their ingenuity

their elan vital     and that some thing     essence

quiddity     i cannot penetrate or name

the complete poem

– – –

FAIR USE NOTICE: This essay contains images and excerpts the use of which have not been pre-authorized. This material is made available for the purpose of analysis and critique, as well as to advance the understanding of political, media, and cultural issues.

The ‘fair use’ of such material is provided for under U.S. Copyright Law. In accordance with U.S. Code Title 17, Section 107, material in this essay (along with attributions to original sources) is viewable for educational and intellectual purposes. Anyone interested in using any copyrighted material from this essay for any reason that goes beyond ‘fair use’ must first obtain permission from the copyright owner.

a personal note: My posting has been sporadic lately, as my wife recovers from her recent surgery. She’s doing well, and I hope to return to this series more regularly very soon.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Exit mobile version