100 Poets Against The War

[loch]

Are there children

are there children somewhere

waiting for wounds

eager for the hiss of napalm

in their flesh –

the mutilating thump of shrapnel

do they long for amputation

and disfigurement

incinerate themselves in ovens

eagerly

are there some who try to sense

the focal points of bullets

or who sprawl on bomb grids

hopefully

do they still line up in queues

for noble deaths

i must ask:

are soul and flesh uneasy fusions

longing for the cut –

the bloody leap to ether

are all our words a shibboleth for silence –

a static crackle

to ignite the blood

and detonate the self-corroding

heart

does each man in his own way

plot a pogrom for the species

or are we all, always misled

to war

Robert Priest, from Blue Pyramids: New and Selected Poems (ECW Press 2002)

[loch]

from http://www.nthposition.com/

100 Poets Against The War has been timed to appear on January 27, 2003, the date on which Hans Blix delivers his weapons inspections report to the United Nations. It is widely expected that this report will either act as a trigger for war, or begin the process whereby the United States of America in fact disregards the will of the UN, and makes a unilateral (give or take a few cronies) preemptive strike upon Iraq. There is a tendency in some quarters to believe that poetry (in the ironic words of Auden) "makes nothing happen." 100 Poets Against The Waris proof that well-written (political) poetry does happen, and matters: it reveals powerfully (and poignantly) how many people oppose imperialist wars of aggression, or want peace, rather than full spectrum domination.

100 Poets Against The War is, in its own way, a document of astonishing uniqueness. Among other things, it may hold the record for being the fastest assembled global anthology; it was first conceived and announced on January 20, 2003, a mere week before its first appearance. Only the speed of the Internet, and the overwhelmingly positive support of so many poets, who shared the project with their colleagues and personal networks, could have made it happen. These poets are from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, Canada, Australia, India, France, America and elsewhere; many are cultural and/or peace activists; some are emerging poets, others very well-known. Many fine poets could not be included (this time) as we had to keep to 50 pages or less. All typographical errors are the editor's; in a few instances, the poems presented are excerpts from longer works. We have decided to forgo contributor's notes, letting the poems speak for themselves; besides which, the space reclaimed has allowed more poems to be included. The poets retain copyright, and grant you permission to make as many copies of this book as possible.

You are encouraged to download, host, share, swap, print and copy, this powerful book of poems, in all its versions. By photocopying on both sides, and then folding (and binding as you choose) you will have a classic DIY chapbook. We encourage you to spread the word about the 100 Poets Against The War project -- in your community, and beyond. This anthology could not have been assembled so well and on time without the dedicated intervention of Val Stevenson, chief editor and publisher of www.nthposition.com (the primary source of the file online).

Peace.

Todd Swift

Editor, 100 Poets Against The War

Paris, January 27, 2003

[sassa]

beautiful...brought a tear to my eye....

[pkern]

Nice one, Loch.

These are the times when we need our poets most urgently.

Anthem For Doomed Youth

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?

Only the monstrous anger of the guns.

Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle

Can patter out their hasty orisons.

No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;

Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, -

The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;

And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?

Not in The hands of boys but in their eyes

Shall shine The holy glimmers of goodbyes.

The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;

Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,

And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

- Wilfred Owen

[luiskain]

Go swallow Anthrax, hippies

[sassa]

Originally posted by luiskain

Go swallow Anthrax, hippies

wtf is wrong with you

[pkern]

Originally posted by sassa

wtf is wrong with you

He's what we like to call "front line material."

Fortunately, most of them don't vote.

[loch]

Originally posted by luiskain

Go swallow Anthrax, hippies

i was wondering when the likes of you would rear your ugly

head. i commend you on your attempt, very pithy and to the

point. nice try, except, wrong forum.

and if i may add, a verse's effectiveness is better delivered when

not directly stating the obvious, and, at the same time, not too

obtuse that leaves the audience scratching their heads. i would

suggest something more along the lines of:

o' flower children of the era,

gather ye blossoms of Bacillus anthracis

in hopes you may, in hopes you might

take the deepest of breaths

and inhale yourselves to carcasses

not as pithy, but better delivered, don't you think?

that said, it never ceases to amaze me how quickly the likes of

you put yourself out to be ridiculed with your alpha-male,

testerone-filled, guns-ablazing, mindless, machismo drivel.

having a dick does not bound you to wield it like a misguided,

headless, pseudo saber to be brandished to show your might.

doing so simply makes you look like one--a dick (or maybe it's

neighbor, the asshole).

if you're going to disagree, at least make an intelligible argument

against it.

as i've mentioned before, i am ambivalent about this issue and

have my own reservations about either argument on both sides

(another discussion for another day). but that doesn't preclude

me from acknowledging the miseries and consequences of war,

which is basically the point of this thread. regardless of which

side you're on , these works from the nthposition.com bring to

the forefront the tragic realities of war.

but that may be too much to ask of you. after all, the demands of

promoting for B52 with their wet t-shirt girls probably preclude

you from thinking about such mundane things.

[loch]

Originally posted by pkern

He's what we like to call "front line material."

i was thinking more like "animal fodder".

( )

[loch]

Easy

Death is easy to pronounce.

He deserved to die.

They ought to be shot.

Hanging’s too good for him.

The words fall glib.

Throwaway lines

sentencing them to death.

Distant observer,

you speak without guilt, or fear

of misplaced allegiances.

You just need something to say,

that’s all.

The right sentiment, rightly declared

whichever way your loyalties blow

in the gust of the smoke.lled air.

A country burns.

The death-dealers deserved to die, you say.

Death is easy to pronounce.

It’s the smell of burning children that’s hard.

-Sampurna Chattarji

[cintron]

Originally posted by loch

It's the smell of burning children that's hard.

-Sampurna Chattarji

or delicious depending on your taste.

[luiskain]

Originally posted by loch

but that may be too much to ask of you. after all, the demands of

promoting for B52 with their wet t-shirt girls probably preclude

you from thinking about such mundane things.

I also hope beyond all hope that B52s drop countless bombs on nuke and bio facilities...as well as on soy loving hippies

[georgym]

Originally posted by luiskain

I also hope beyond all hope that B52s drop countless bombs on nuke and bio facilities...as well as on soy loving hippies

this is what scares me:

putting dumbass's like yourself (and Bush) in charge of the military. You may hit factories, but you'll also hit innocent families that have nothing to do with the conflict, could be your long-distance relatives... but do you give a damn? Noooo, you're too busy pushing around your little 8==>

[luiskain]

Originally posted by loch

It’s the smell of burning children that’s hard.

-Sampurna Chattarji

What kind of sauce would you like, sir?

[luiskain]

Originally posted by gmccookny

You may hit factories, but you'll also hit innocent families that have nothing to do with the conflict

Ok, let's get something straight...that's why there's smart bombs...to minimize 'innocent casualties'.

Oh, I guess in ur way of rationalizing, let's not get rid of any bio and nuke facilities bc we MAY hurt a couple of innocent civilians.

Hm...so what about when we get hit with nukes and bio and millions and millions of innocent civilians die?

so much for MAY scenarios, huh?

@}>---`-`----`-----

here's a flower, go caress it

[cintron]

Two rules that as old as time itself:

- War is hell.

- Innocent people die.

when people accept this fact, then perhaps they can realize that there is work that needs to be done to prevent more innocent people from dying at the hands of someone who values life far less than we do.

we don't have to like the realities we are forced to deal with. (i certainly don't).

but we must deal with them and burying our heads in the sand will not fix the problems.

[pkern]

Originally posted by luiskain

Ok, let's get something straight...that's why there's smart bombs...to minimize 'innocent casualties'.

Oh, I guess in ur way of rationalizing, let's not get rid of any bio and nuke facilities bc we MAY hurt a couple of innocent civilians.

Hm...so what about when we get hit with nukes and bio and millions and millions of innocent civilians die?

so much for MAY scenarios, huh?

@}>---`-`----`-----

here's a flower, go caress it

Well. Glad we straightened THAT one out.

A suggestion, folks: Let's not try to engage in an intelligent dialogue with Mr. Smart Bomb Oxymoron. It will only lead to high blood pressure.

[luiskain]

Originally posted by pkern

Well. Glad we straightened THAT one out.

A suggestion, folks: Let's not try to engage in an intelligent dialogue with Mr. Smart Bomb Oxymoron. It will only lead to high blood pressure.

Two things:

1. How the fuck is the term SMART BOMB an oxymoron?

SMART being the adjective that describes the inanimate object. BOMB, being the noun that carries with it no suggestive nor attached adjectives to contradict smart.

2. Unless you meant to call me a moron and misused the word oxymoron, which in of itself is an oxymoron bc i guess you're a moron and I'm hoping I'm not wrong bc that would make me the moron and this whole thing would be quite the oxymoron.

Oh...and another thing

@}>-----`-`-----`----- you go spoon with one too

[loch]

...carries with it no suggestive nor attached adjectives to contradict smart.

there IS a suggestive and attached reference and it DOES in fact contradict smart. it's in the title "MR."

please allow me to break it down for you and enumerate step by step in a color-coded diagram so that even you can understand (after all, how do you tell an idiot that he's an idiot when he lacks the mental capacity to understand what an 'idiot' is?):

[luiskain]

Originally posted by loch

there IS a suggestive and attached reference and it DOES in fact contradict smart. it's in the title "MR."

please allow me to break it down for you and enumerate step by step in a color-coded diagram so that even you can understand (after all, how do you tell an idiot that he's an idiot when he lacks the mental capacity to understand what an 'idiot' is?):

Holy shit...u made a diagram...30 minutes of your life...just gone. You'll never have them again. And you spent them in front of your little computer to make that diagram. Holy shit.

Hippie energies being wasted....treehugger powers being squandered!

MUST RETURN TO COMPOSING WORLD...SAVING.......LITERATURE!

[loch]

Ok, let's get something straight...that's why there's smart bombs...

you certainly have illusions about war. and the more you speak,

the more garbage comes out of your mouth, and the more

obvious it is that you get your source of information from

sensational highlight clips from your 10 o'clock local news.

what's even more remarkable is that you are so convinced in your

own stupidity that you don't know you're stupid. but i suppose

that TOO, is commendable. i mean, if you're going to BE

something, at least have the conviction to believe that you

ARE absolutely it, even if it's stupidity.

for your information, genius, it has been reported that the "smart

bombs" you saw in the highlight reels of the gulf war in '91

accounted for only 10% of the bombings and attacks.

what accounted for the other 90%? CARPET BOMBING. that is,

tons and tons of bombs being flushed out of bombers' belly cargo

doors, draping the skies and exploding its "target" (BLANKET

explosions) and ALL OF ITS SURROUNDING AREAS in multifold

in diameter of its "intended" target.

dust yourself off and try again.

[loch]

Holy shit...u made a diagram...30 minutes of your life...

i can easily see how you are astounded by something that takes a mere 2 minutes to do for the average folk (again, refer back to diagram, RED portion, as to why you might think it takes 30 mins.)

[loch]

Collateral damage

In a place of sand and wind and want, worn

cotton looped across her forbidden face

a woman without pleasures tends to her sons.

She believes what she is told,owns no flags

knows life by the taste of cloth at her mouth.

Bread and leaflets drop from the sky, then

other things. We meant to bomb the airport

one mile north of this village with no name,

this village on no map,

this village of no more.

-Jackie Sheeler

[cintron]

Originally posted by loch

for your information, genius, it has been reported that the "smart

bombs" you saw in the highlight reels of the gulf war in '91

accounted for only 10% of the bombings and attacks.

what accounted for the other 90%? CARPET BOMBING. that is,

tons and tons of bombs being flushed out of bombers' belly cargo

doors, draping the skies and exploding its "target" (BLANKET

explosions) and ALL OF ITS SURROUNDING AREAS in multifold

in diameter of its "intended" target.

dust yourself off and try again.

just to be a technical geek here:

Carpet bombing is a technique made famous in world war two, from B17 raids that indiscriminately destroyed entire cities as a means of destroying the enemy's means of production.

There is NO carpet bombing that goes on today. Even baack then, bombers were capable of taking out a single bridge with their bombload.

most single and twin seat jets use a computer system that projects a CCIP/CCRP or computer calculated impact point/release point. Fighters such as the F16, F15E, A10, F111 and even B52's are capable of dropping non-precision munitions (aka Dumb Bombs) with great accuracy.

You refer to belly doors - i assume you mean the B52. (since the F111 was used as more of an electronic warfare platform in the gulf war.)

The B52 stratofortress is capable of pinpoint radar guided strikes in all weather under any conditions. It drops a HUGE payload, but i have yet to see the airforce use the B52 to unload it's bombs in a populated area since the linebacker ops over Hanoi.

Granted there will always be collateral damage and casualties in war. However, due to the dispersement of iraqi military equipment and the relatively large and open terrain of the desert, it's relatively easy to hit targets without fear of excessive collateral damage.

Note that ALL strikes in baghdad were performed by the 117's (stealth fighter), to minimize collateral damage via the use of precision munitions.

I think the airforce knows what an outcry it would cause if a B52 unloaded it's payload in downtown baghdad.

the men fighting out there are professionals, and professionals hit what they aim at.

[luiskain]

Originally posted by loch

you certainly have illusions about war. and the more you speak,

the more garbage comes out of your mouth, and the more

obvious it is that you get your source of information from

sensational highlight clips from your 10 o'clock local news.

what's even more remarkable is that you are so convinced in your

own stupidity that you don't know you're stupid. but i suppose

that TOO, is commendable. i mean, if you're going to BE

something, at least have the conviction to believe that you

ARE absolutely it, even if it's stupidity.

for your information, genius, it has been reported that the "smart

bombs" you saw in the highlight reels of the gulf war in '91

accounted for only 10% of the bombings and attacks.

what accounted for the other 90%? CARPET BOMBING. that is,

tons and tons of bombs being flushed out of bombers' belly cargo

doors, draping the skies and exploding its "target" (BLANKET

explosions) and ALL OF ITS SURROUNDING AREAS in multifold

in diameter of its "intended" target.

dust yourself off and try again.

I love how you just pull these obscure stats out of your ass. What fuckin underground news source do you base your assertions from? Radical liberals like you always bash the media whenever the facts reported are not in favor of your agenda. The excuse is always, "oh, that's just what the controlled media shows you, but that's not the truth." So where the fuck is the truth then? You have the truth right? What you say is the truth, nevermind what everyone else says. Give me a break. Nerds like you take credibility from yourselves at every corner.

Cite where you got this 10% smart bomb \ 90% "carpet bombing" stat from. I don't even think they carpet bomb anymore. Are you fucking kidding me? If a stratofortress b52 went on a carpet bombing rampage, entire cities would be leveled. 90% of bombing missions were carpet bombings huh? Oh, oops, i guess during the gulf war, 600 iraqi cities were leveld but we dont know about it bc of the tightly controled media.

Someone give this guy a clue