Words of War
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Love poetry, hate war? Then you should visit Gary Brown's newest blog, The Heart of War. Be warned: this is not easy reading. But what Gary has written is important, I think, because the juxtaposition of such lyrical language with the horrors of the subject matter lends a desperately needed freshness to the message. In our jaded culture, when the distance afforded by the Internet and the evening news makes war too easily watched and too easily ignored, Gary's work may remind you of the outrage lost along with innocence. That's a good thing, even if it hurts a little. Here's a sample, used by permission:
Crutch
Destined to be someone’s three-limbed
poster child for peace,
for war,
for nothing and
much more,
they made me their
one man parade,
a lifetime limping billboard for
the strangers who
will never know
my name;
who’ve now moved on,
forgotten the cause which prompted them
so many years ago
to plant a mine
along my path
to school.
Without a foot,
without a leg,
without a way to class again,
I began
another education
where pain and sorrow
taught me long,
other people, too.
Sweaty years of stumbling as
the object of sad eyes,
the target of a taunt,
the last in line
have roughly led me to a place
where God’s embrace
of fierce gentility has gripped me so
I can’t let go;
for I am not the first child He has
rescued from the
public cross
of someone seeking
private justice.
Copyright (c) 2007 Gary Brown. All rights reserved.
Posted byAthol Dickson at 4:42 PM
Labels: Church and State
