The illusion of love for another
is a manifestation of a secret
withheld from us by God…
as such,
those we love cannot darken our lives,
for what illuminates them,
is a reflection of a Truth
beyond death.
Those that carry the candle,
may not have lit the flame.
Those whom we surround with hatred, surround us;
and so it goes with love.
Love surrounds those
who surround others with love.
The conflict begins and ends
with how you circumscribe yourself.
You see, hatred is fear tied to a soul …
love is letting go of the rope.
We are weary of strife and long for love.
To be moved at all by words of love,
is an ember of hope in darkened hearth,
waiting for a breeze to raze the flame again.
Montage of three press photos from astute photographers in Gaza
What you feel from these images,
is what your heart is trying to see.
This is only confusing to the mind.
Love first, rationalize later.
Those who walk the path of destruction
with an army of thousands
are more alone than one
who walks the path of peace by himself.
Gazing at the gates of hope
in the lens of my camera.
This, his expression,
upon seeing his own reflection.
In anguish, he asks,
“Is this another check point,
Beyond which
I’ll never pass?”
I gazed at the gates
of my own despair.
In this child’s
world-sized eyes.
Still Ponds in a dusty desert;
thresholds, I’ve never crossed,
Waters, never rippled –
Never sipped.
Self-loathing, I ask,
“Of what use, my bright lantern,
when I fear the shadows
in those I’ll encounter?”
As a journalist of death, I tell you,
I’ve seen the persistence of life
in the faces of children
who’ve never lived.
Facts are vulnerable to the spin of opinion, an infectious bother at times, but ironically necessary.
I leverage facts for better judgement of opinions. Mine and others. Facts have a better casual impact on judgement, opinions more reactive. Facts conflict and converge in the face human nature… inevitably it is our nature that must also be examined and cultivated.
1
Love reigns and it quenches, gives warmth as it shines
It dances among us, holding hands across time.
Like rain over mountains, its tears wash them down
Across fans of alluvium, then carving the ground.
2
It pours into rivers, knitting braids over sands
Like confluent families with interlocked hands,
That lift you up high, so that you may see
That I’ll love you from God, over mountains and seas.
3
I’ll not cloud your thoughts with trite explanations
But offer my heart for illumination
Of bright shiny engines, that gleam along tracks
Through dark nights and tunnels, there again back.
4
To a home that glows in you, wherever you are
Like the navigational light, of a boat captains star,
That guides like a chorus, for all who’ll hear it
From angel to prophet, to your hearts inner spirit.
5
From He who will bless you with the love for another
What He weaves together, nothing renders asunder.
For love endures life, its frailties and trials
As each of us cries or breaks into smiles.
6
You roam in my prayers, held close little one,
And a house has a door, but a home has none.
So for now, let me hug you, and whisper a prayer
That you can keep with you even if I’m not there,
7
“May God smile upon me, keep my family in sight,
Teach me forgiveness, guide our days and our nights
Protect me, bring comfort and Lord I thank thee
For the blessing of love, from so many others to me.”
by A.S. M.
W
e were not listening to a man, hm, we were listening to a CASTLE! Which we walked inside, our ears as candles, and our hearts became illuminated.
Do so ever love that castle…
Coleman Barks wrote a poem about his son (and I can distinctly remember his voice):
‘He said, Benjamin my son said,
Show me the places you have loved,
so I will know them like you have.
I will have to do that someday,
he said when you are gone.
The small things & places
you have not told anyone of,
show me those.
I want your life
inside my life.’
The voice of the heart speaks loudly, may it speak over the voices of men.
Man cries and clings to his dead child
A friend responded to a video of a weeping man being pried away from his young daughter who was dead on a burned out hospital floor. She was killed by Israeli missile attacks in Gaza, July 2014. This next paragraph was the response from my friend who saw the video.
“Those people only know war they have been in it ALL THEIR LIVES I can not feel sorry for people who choose to continue in the same direction these countries do. The US needs to back off and allow these people to figure it out.”
I replied,
My friend, you were moved by the video. Thank you. So, let’s move in the right direction.
I feel sorry for these people because their choices and directions are being made for them. Freedom is not just an American invented right – it is a God given right of all people. And the freedom I choose to live in, is the freedom that is for ALL. And when I see so much senseless death among children, elderly and entire family’s (anyone) being wiped out, I cannot help but feel compassion and a desire to investigate just a bit further; so I can help alleviate the pain and prevent our children having to deal with it.
I’d almost say that your suggestion to “back off” comes about a century too late. But I won’t. Because we cannot isolate ourselves or those in need….ever. Western involvement (U.S., Great Britain, Israel and others) has DIRECTLY led to the current conditions in much of the modern Middle East and certainly in Gaza. We cannot “back off” from a mess we started and exacerbated. I DO agree with backing off military aid and with publically condemning the use oppressive of force and lopsided policy. I do NOT agree with backing off with collaborative approaches to peaceful resolutions.
In case you cannot get to the end of this response, I’ll say it now: A world of peace cannot be achieved by nations who walk away from one another. The ripple effects of human rights violations and war spread far and wide and become the breeding grounds for nothing but resentment and evil… and evil knows no borders. Have you not seen this yourself? We should discontinue arming these regions with weapons and seek to lift oppressive sanctions. We have a duty to mankind. We’ve a responsibility to act as a nation of human beings, not a mob of human nationalist; a responsibility to relieve suffering with diplomacy, basic human needs, and compassion. Not a blithe remark to “go figure it out yourselves” which is not much different then being complicit with violence.
We have ALL known war…from the Revolutionary War to the American Civil Rights movement to the current military activities throughout the world with which we engage (which still continues in this country). We ARE a military nation; Palestine does not have a military and is not recognized as a country by its nearest neighbor (and yes, I know the sentiment is sadly reciprocated). This country entertains (numbs) ourselves with violence on news and TV and theater. Oh, my friend, we are ALL bent on war. It’s time to change….and it starts at home.
While the currently Palestinian region was living in relative peace (under the Ottoman empire), the U.S. was engaged in a civil war that killed over 600,000 of its own citizens. Make no mistake, the Palestinians ALSO know peace and the importance of family AS do the Israeli’s. They do not prefer war, they abhor oppression and their crisis has direct legacy in OUR early Zionism, United Nations activities, western policy and capitalism, and poor leadership decisions through the decades. Palestine cannot figure it out under constant oppression, poverty (>80% impoverished), and internal strife while Israel continues to flourish and expand around it and within it. You’d expect the same intervention if you felt we were being oppressed; just as the Jewish Europeans were given the support of the world (including the Arab nations) through the first half of 20th century. The world has stood with us and others before in many important humanitarian and political actions. If we expect this to continue, we must stand with the world. And the world says, free Palestine. The precedent we would set by relegating the Palestinian people to war mongers (after seeing this video?!) and “backing off” without consideration would be devastating to the world.
Again, a world of peace cannot be achieved by nations who walk away from one another. The ripple effects of human rights violations and war spread far and wide and become the breeding grounds for nothing but resentment and evil… and evil knows no borders. It is our duty as a nation of human beings, not a mob human nationalists, to relieve their suffering with diplomacy, basic human needs, and compassion. Free yourself from the isolation you condone, free Palestine. We are all Palestine, we are all Israel…we are all EVERYWHERE.
