The writers had separate briefing; a funny, seriously unruly lot we are... Once again we are made aware of the possible legal implications of holding up a poem against violence. News comes in that 5.000 police/soldiers are on alert in the neighborhood for what has been announced as a nonviolent action. In total we are about over a
thousand bombspotters. The walk is beautiful in an old 'hollow road' used for long distance traveling on horses in the Middle ages and later. And soon police, their cars come from the front and the back of our little poetry parade. Their choppers 
and horses surround us. Our spokesperson reassures them that we do a literary walk for peace. The police: you won't leave the road? Answer: No. Then one police to another: They are intellectuals they won't bold through the fields... And we read and read and about 80/90 maybe more people listened and enjoyed the very diverse menu of succulent words. There was emotion, laughter a feel of togetherness, and a lot of mud. We hear that the 
police was rough on the people near the NATO base, certainly unreasonable force, undue retaliation. Nobody resisted arrest! 
My heart breaks. What can we do but match our voices to the roar of the chopper, hold up a poem, a thought, an image, laughter to save humanity from random death and collateral damage of wars for profit or power. Thanks, you who read and you who listened. Thanks for working for better futures for all new born babies of these days.
If Poets for Peace want a more vigorous police reaction to their readings, in order to gain significant media coverage and attention, perhaps they should consider hiring a corps of translators, to print all their odes in Arabic, and train their poets to read their epics in Farsi.
ReplyDeleteIt would also help to have all their lady poets wear Burkas, strap several six-packs of Coke about their waists, and wear oversized flasher-type trench coats to conceal their bulk.
And, to add to the festivities, street vendors could have labels printed 'Nukular Hand Grenade', wrap them around beer cans, and offer them for sale with instructions, 'Pull tab to Detonate'.
Incidentally, Poem of the Day award went to:
WARS MUST END,
WARS MUST CEASE,
F**K ALL WARS,
LET'S TRY PEACE
'...for better futures for all new born babies of these days'.
ReplyDeleteI guess the writer's and poetry convention wasn't all business and hard work of reading and listening to poetry, lots of poets and poetesses, writers and writerettes must have found time to sneak off the hollow road and into the bushes together, so there'd be lots of 'new born babies of these days'.
Else what's the point of making the world a better place?
....anon II
The two prior commentators seem to be caught up in a need to have the cynical sarcastic voice broadcast, when what is needed is empathy, heart, analytic mind, and the language of peace, not divisiveness.
ReplyDeleteMy heart goes to you who are willing to put your words and bodies in front of totalitarian force, but be sure to protect them. We need you in the world, not them.
Speak peace to power!