“… Is it that you, freedman of the north winds, don’t know what peace is?...”

Monday, January 05, 2009


Here's a translation of yesterday's post by Ana:

Is it that you, freedman of the north winds, dont know what peace is?...
Francisco Matos Paoli

Peace doesnt exist:

If its not possible for all.
If its a right trampled by leftists, centrists and rightists possessed
by fanaticism, conformism and hate.
While there are children who die without experiencing it.
While we celebrate our human nature of attack and destruction as if
its innate, inescapable, equipped with good arguments
and historical precedents.
If world leaders stand silent before massacres, genocides and abuses.

Theyve been slow to condemn whats obvious for anyone whos able to feel.

Spill no more innocent blood over Gaza!
I don't know if Ana would call this a poem; her label call is it a pensamiento crítico, a "critical thought."

Can poetry address a historical moment in the moment? (British poet Sean O'Brien has attempted it in the case of Israel's attacks on Gazaless than successfully, according to his comment stream.) And if not, why not?

Does the "long view" of poetry exclude the "immediate view"?

Posted by Joseph Hutchison at 7:31 AM