Something Good
Jim Baldauf
jfbaldauf@prodigy.net
Thu, 8 Nov 2001 18:32:20 -0600
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WAR POEMS=20
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-
A poem by Suheir Hammad
1. there have been no words.
i have not written one word.=20
no poetry in the ashes south of canal street.=20
no prose in the refrigerated trucks driving debris and dna.=20
not one word.=20
today is a week, and seven is of heavens, gods, science.=20
evident out my kitchen window is an abstract reality.=20
sky where once was steel.=20
smoke where once was flesh.=20
fire in the city air and i feared for my sister's life in a way
never=20
before. and then, and now, i fear for the rest of us.=20
first, please god, let it be a mistake, the pilot's heart failed,=20
the=20
plane's engine died.=20
then please god, let it be a nightmare, wake me now.=20
please god, after the second plane, please, don't let it be anyone =
who looks like my brothers.=20
i do not know how bad a life has to break in order to kill.=20
i have never been so hungry that i willed hunger=20
i have never been so angry as to want to control a gun over a pen. =
not really.=20
even as a woman, as a palestinian, as a broken human being.=20
never this broken.=20
more than ever, i believe there is no difference.=20
the most privileged nation, most americans do not know the=20
difference=20
between indians, afghanis, syrians, muslims, sikhs, hindus.=20
more than ever, there is no difference.=20
2. thank you korea for kimchi and bibim bob, and corn tea and the=20
genteel smiles of the wait staff at wonjo smiles never revealing=20
the heat of the food or how tired they must be working long =
midtown=20
shifts. thank you korea, for the belly craving that brought me=20
into=20
the city late the night before and diverted my daily train ride=20
into=20
the world trade center.=20
there are plenty of thank yous in ny right now. thank you for my=20
lazy procrastinating late ass. thank you to the germs that had me=20
call in sick. thank you, my attitude, you had me fired the week=20
before. thank you for the train that never came, the rude nyer who =
stole my cab going downtown. thank you for the sense my mama gave=20
me=20
to run. thank you for my legs, my eyes, my life.=20
3. the dead are called lost and their families hold up shaky=20
printouts in front of us through screens smoked up.=20
we are looking for iris, mother of three. please call with any=20
information. we are searching for priti, last seen on the 103rd=20
floor. she was talking to her husband on the phone and the line=20
went. please help us find george, also known as adel. his family=20
is=20
waiting for him with his favorite meal. i am looking for my son,=20
who=20
was delivering coffee. i am looking for my sister girl, she=20
started=20
her job on monday.=20
i am looking for peace. i am looking for mercy. i am looking for=20
evidence of compassion. any evidence of life. i am looking for=20
life.=20
4. ricardo on the radio said in his accent thick as yuca, "i will=20
feel so much better when the first bombs drop over there. and my=20
friends feel the same way."=20
on my block, a woman was crying in a car parked and stranded in=20
hurt.=20
i offered comfort, extended a hand she did not see before she=20
said,=20
"we're gonna burn them so bad, i swear, so bad." my hand went to=20
my=20
head and my head went to the numbers within it of the dead iraqi=20
children, the dead in nicaragua. the dead in rwanda who had to vie =
with fake sport wrestling for america's attention.=20
yet when people sent emails saying, this was bound to happen, lets =
not forget u.s. transgressions, for half a second i felt =
resentful.=20
hold up with that, cause i live here, these are my friends and =
fam,=20
and it could have been me in those buildings, and we're not bad=20
people, do not support america's bullying. can i just have a half=20
second to feel bad?=20
if i can find through this exhaust people who were left behind to=20
mourn and to resist mass murder, i might be alright.=20
thank you to the woman who saw me brinking my cool and blinking=20
back=20
tears. she opened her arms before she asked "do you want a hug?"=20
a=20
big white woman, and her embrace was the kind only people with the =
warmth of flesh can offer. i wasn't about to say no to any=20
comfort.=20
"my brother's in the navy,"i said. "and we're arabs" "wow, you=20
got double trouble." word.=20
5. one more person ask me if i knew the hijackers.=20
one more motherfucker ask me what navy my brother is in.=20
one more person assume no arabs or muslims were killed.=20
one more person assume they know me, or that i represent a people. =
or that a people represent an evil. or that evil is as simple as a =
flag and words on a page.=20
we did not vilify all white men when mcveigh bombed oklahoma.=20
america did not give out his family's addresses or where he went =
to=20
church. or blame the bible or pat robertson.=20
and when the networks air footage of palestinians dancing in the=20
street, there is no apology that hungry children are bribed with=20
sweets that turn their teeth=20
brown. that correspondents edit images. that archives are there=20
to=20
facilitate lazy and inaccurate journalism.=20
and when we talk about holy books and hooded men and death, why do =
we=20
never mention the kkk?=20
if there are any people on earth who understand how new york is=20
feeling right now, they are in the west bank and the gaza strip.=20
6. today it is ten days. last night bush waged war on a man once=20
openly funded by the=20
cia. i do not know who is responsible. read too many books, know=20
too many people to believe what i am told. i don't give a fuck=20
about=20
bin laden. his vision of the world does not include me or those i=20
love. and petittions have been going around for years trying to=20
get=20
the u.s. sponsored taliban out of power. shit is complicated, and=20
i don't know what to think.=20
but i know for sure who will pay.=20
in the world, it will be women, mostly colored and poor. women=20
will=20
have to bury children, and support themselves through grief.=20
"either you are with us, or with the terrorists" - meaning keep =
your=20
people=20
under control and your resistance censored. meaning we got the=20
loot=20
and the nukes.=20
in america, it will be those amongst us who refuse blanket attacks =
on=20
the shivering. those of us who work toward social justice, in=20
support of civil liberties, in opposition to hateful foreign=20
policies.=20
i have never felt less american and more new yorker - particularly =
brooklyn, than these past days. the stars and stripes on all these =
cars and apartment windows represent the dead as citizens first - =
not=20
family members, not lovers.=20
i feel like my skin is real thin, and that my eyes are only going =
to=20
get darker. the future holds little light.=20
my baby brother is a man now, and on alert, and praying five times =
a=20
day that the orders he will take in a few days time are righteous =
and=20
will not weigh his soul down from the afterlife he deserves.=20
both my brothers - my heart stops when i try to pray - not a beat =
to=20
disturb my fear. one a rock god, the other a sergeant, and both=20
palestinian, practicing muslim, gentle men. both born in brooklyn=20
and their faces are of the archetypal arab man, all eyelashes and=20
nose and beautiful color and stubborn hair.=20
what will their lives be like now?=20
over there is over here.=20
7. all day, across the river, the smell of burning rubber and =
limbs=20
floats through. the sirens have stopped now. the advertisers are=20
back on the air. the rescue workers are traumatized. the skyline =
is=20
brought back to human size. no longer taunting the gods with its=20
height.=20
i have not cried at all while writing this. i cried when i saw =
those=20
buildings collapse on themselves like a broken heart. i have never =
owned pain that needs to spread like that. and i cry daily that my =
brothers return to our mother safe and whole.=20
there is no poetry in this. there are causes and effects. there =
are=20
symbols and ideologies. mad conspiracy here, and information we =
will=20
never know. there is death here, and there are promises of more.=20
there is life here. anyone reading this is breathing, maybe =
hurting,=20
but breathing for sure. and if there is any light to come, it will =
shine from the eyes of those who look for peace and justice after =
the=20
rubble and rhetoric are cleared and the phoenix has risen.=20
affirm life.=20
affirm life.=20
we got to carry each other now.=20
you are either with life, or against it.=20
affirm life.=20
suheir hammad
=20
=20
Politex, www.bushwatch.com, 11/8/01
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<P><!-- =
-------------------------------------------------------------------- =
--><B><A=20
href=3D"http://www.bushnews.com/bush.htm"=20
style=3D"TEXT-DECORATION: none"><FONT color=3D#3333cc =
face=3Dvirdana size=3D7>WAR=20
POEMS</FONT></A></B>=20
<HR>
<P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D5><B>A poem by=20
Suheir Hammad</B></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>1. there have=20
been no words.<BR></FONT><FONT=20
face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=3D2>i have not =
written one=20
word. <BR>no poetry in the ashes south of canal street. <BR>no =
prose in=20
the refrigerated trucks driving debris and dna. <BR>not one word.=20
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>today is a=20
week, and seven is of heavens, gods, science. <BR>evident out my =
kitchen=20
window is an abstract reality. <BR>sky where once was steel. =
<BR>smoke=20
where once was flesh. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>fire in the=20
city air and i feared for my sister's life in a =
way<BR></FONT><FONT=20
face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=3D2>never =
<BR>before. and=20
then, and now, i fear for the rest of us. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>first, please=20
god, let it be a mistake, the pilot's heart failed, <BR>the =
<BR>plane's=20
engine died. <BR>then please god, let it be a nightmare, wake me =
now.=20
<BR>please god, after the second plane, please, don't let it be =
anyone=20
<BR>who looks like my brothers. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=3D2>i =
do not know=20
how bad a life has to break in order to kill. <BR>i have never =
been so=20
hungry that i willed hunger <BR>i have never been so angry as to =
want to=20
control a gun over a pen. <BR>not really. <BR>even as a woman, as =
a=20
palestinian, as a broken human being. <BR>never this broken. =
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>more than=20
ever, i believe there is no difference. <BR>the most privileged =
nation,=20
most americans do not know the <BR>difference <BR>between indians, =
afghanis, syrians, muslims, sikhs, hindus. <BR>more than ever, =
there is no=20
difference. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>2. thank you=20
korea for kimchi and bibim bob, and corn tea and the <BR>genteel =
smiles of=20
the wait staff at wonjo smiles never revealing <BR>the heat of the =
food or=20
how tired they must be working long midtown <BR>shifts. thank you =
korea,=20
for the belly craving that brought me <BR>into <BR>the city late =
the night=20
before and diverted my daily train ride <BR>into <BR>the world =
trade=20
center. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>there are=20
plenty of thank yous in ny right now. thank you for my <BR>lazy=20
procrastinating late ass. thank you to the germs that had me =
<BR>call in=20
sick. thank you, my attitude, you had me fired the week =
<BR>before. thank=20
you for the train that never came, the rude nyer who <BR>stole my =
cab=20
going downtown. thank you for the sense my mama gave <BR>me <BR>to =
run.=20
thank you for my legs, my eyes, my life. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>3. the dead=20
are called lost and their families hold up shaky <BR>printouts in =
front of=20
us through screens smoked up. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>we are=20
looking for iris, mother of three. please call with any =
<BR>information.=20
we are searching for priti, last seen on the 103rd <BR>floor. she =
was=20
talking to her husband on the phone and the line <BR>went. please =
help us=20
find george, also known as adel. his family <BR>is <BR>waiting for =
him=20
with his favorite meal. i am looking for my son, <BR>who <BR>was=20
delivering coffee. i am looking for my sister girl, she =
<BR>started=20
<BR>her job on monday. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=3D2>i =
am looking=20
for peace. i am looking for mercy. i am looking for <BR>evidence =
of=20
compassion. any evidence of life. i am looking for <BR>life. =
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>4. ricardo on=20
the radio said in his accent thick as yuca, "i will <BR>feel so =
much=20
better when the first bombs drop over there. and my <BR>friends =
feel the=20
same way." <BR>on my block, a woman was crying in a car parked and =
stranded in <BR>hurt. <BR>i offered comfort, extended a hand she =
did not=20
see before she <BR>said, <BR>"we're gonna burn them so bad, i =
swear, so=20
bad." my hand went to <BR>my <BR>head and my head went to the =
numbers=20
within it of the dead iraqi <BR>children, the dead in nicaragua. =
the dead=20
in rwanda who had to vie <BR>with fake sport wrestling for =
america's=20
attention. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>yet when=20
people sent emails saying, this was bound to happen, lets <BR>not =
forget=20
u.s. transgressions, for half a second i felt resentful. <BR>hold =
up with=20
that, cause i live here, these are my friends and fam, <BR>and it =
could=20
have been me in those buildings, and we're not bad <BR>people, do =
not=20
support america's bullying. can i just have a half <BR>second to =
feel bad?=20
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>if i can find=20
through this exhaust people who were left behind to <BR>mourn and =
to=20
resist mass murder, i might be alright. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>thank you to=20
the woman who saw me brinking my cool and blinking <BR>back =
<BR>tears. she=20
opened her arms before she asked "do you want a hug?" <BR>a =
<BR>big white=20
woman, and her embrace was the kind only people with the =
<BR>warmth of=20
flesh can offer. i wasn't about to say no to any <BR>comfort. =
<BR>"my=20
brother's in the navy,"i said. "and we're arabs" "wow, you <BR>got =
double=20
trouble." word. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>5. one more=20
person ask me if i knew the hijackers. <BR>one more motherfucker =
ask me=20
what navy my brother is in. <BR>one more person assume no arabs or =
muslims=20
were killed. <BR>one more person assume they know me, or that i =
represent=20
a people. <BR>or that a people represent an evil. or that evil is =
as=20
simple as a <BR>flag and words on a page. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>we did not=20
vilify all white men when mcveigh bombed oklahoma. <BR>america did =
not=20
give out his family's addresses or where he went to <BR>church. or =
blame=20
the bible or pat robertson. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>and when the=20
networks air footage of palestinians dancing in the <BR>street, =
there is=20
no apology that hungry children are bribed with <BR>sweets that =
turn their=20
teeth <BR>brown. that correspondents edit images. that archives =
are there=20
<BR>to <BR>facilitate lazy and inaccurate journalism. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>and when we=20
talk about holy books and hooded men and death, why do <BR>we =
<BR>never=20
mention the kkk? </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>if there are=20
any people on earth who understand how new york is <BR>feeling =
right now,=20
they are in the west bank and the gaza strip. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>6. today it=20
is ten days. last night bush waged war on a man once <BR>openly =
funded by=20
the <BR>cia. i do not know who is responsible. read too many =
books, know=20
<BR>too many people to believe what i am told. i don't give a fuck =
<BR>about <BR>bin laden. his vision of the world does not include =
me or=20
those i <BR>love. and petittions have been going around for years =
trying=20
to <BR>get <BR>the u.s. sponsored taliban out of power. shit is=20
complicated, and <BR>i don't know what to think. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>but i know=20
for sure who will pay. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>in the world,=20
it will be women, mostly colored and poor. women <BR>will <BR>have =
to bury=20
children, and support themselves through grief. <BR>"either you =
are with=20
us, or with the terrorists" - meaning keep your <BR>people =
<BR>under=20
control and your resistance censored. meaning we got the <BR>loot =
<BR>and=20
the nukes. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>in america,=20
it will be those amongst us who refuse blanket attacks on <BR>the=20
shivering. those of us who work toward social justice, in =
<BR>support of=20
civil liberties, in opposition to hateful foreign <BR>policies.=20
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=3D2>i =
have never=20
felt less american and more new yorker - particularly =
<BR>brooklyn, than=20
these past days. the stars and stripes on all these <BR>cars and =
apartment=20
windows represent the dead as citizens first - not <BR>family =
members, not=20
lovers. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=3D2>i =
feel like=20
my skin is real thin, and that my eyes are only going to <BR>get =
darker.=20
the future holds little light. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>my baby=20
brother is a man now, and on alert, and praying five times a =
<BR>day that=20
the orders he will take in a few days time are righteous and =
<BR>will not=20
weigh his soul down from the afterlife he deserves. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>both my=20
brothers - my heart stops when i try to pray - not a beat to =
<BR>disturb=20
my fear. one a rock god, the other a sergeant, and both =
<BR>palestinian,=20
practicing muslim, gentle men. both born in brooklyn <BR>and their =
faces=20
are of the archetypal arab man, all eyelashes and <BR>nose and =
beautiful=20
color and stubborn hair. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>what will=20
their lives be like now? </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>over there is=20
over here. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>7. all day,=20
across the river, the smell of burning rubber and limbs <BR>floats =
through. the sirens have stopped now. the advertisers are <BR>back =
on the=20
air. the rescue workers are traumatized. the skyline is =
<BR>brought back=20
to human size. no longer taunting the gods with its <BR>height.=20
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=3D2>i =
have not=20
cried at all while writing this. i cried when i saw those =
<BR>buildings=20
collapse on themselves like a broken heart. i have never <BR>owned =
pain=20
that needs to spread like that. and i cry daily that my =
<BR>brothers=20
return to our mother safe and whole. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>there is no=20
poetry in this. there are causes and effects. there are =
<BR>symbols and=20
ideologies. mad conspiracy here, and information we will <BR>never =
know.=20
there is death here, and there are promises of more. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>there is life=20
here. anyone reading this is breathing, maybe hurting, <BR>but =
breathing=20
for sure. and if there is any light to come, it will <BR>shine =
from the=20
eyes of those who look for peace and justice after the <BR>rubble =
and=20
rhetoric are cleared and the phoenix has risen. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>affirm life.=20
<BR>affirm life. <BR>we got to carry each other now. <BR>you are =
either=20
with life, or against it. <BR>affirm life. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" =
size=3D2>suheir=20
hammad</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"=20
size=3D2> </FONT></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV><FONT =
face=3DArial=20
size=3D2><STRONG><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>Politex, <A=20
href=3D"http://www.bushwatch.com">www.bushwatch.com</A>,=20
11/8/01</FONT></STRONG></FONT></BODY></HTML>
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