Wednesday 25 January 2012

Waves of Glass

.

O Israel
they are coming to get you
those dangerous ships overloaded with pacifists
armed with poems and pictures from American children
and middle-aged women with sharpened pencils
Alice Walker is one of their leaders
her color is purple
she's dangerous
you must stop her at Gibraltar
or failing that at Greece
she's Helen of Troy in a wooden boat - things hidden in the decks -
crayons - paints - telephones - cameras - all dangerous things
help! Jesus O God somebody help us - help them -
help everybody - help the Greeks - help the horses on the boats -
sink those ships!
scuttle their ideas!
smash their prows!
send on the g.men!
fire the water cannon - bring on the helicopters - like in VietNam -
where's Ho Chi Minh when we need him?
where's Whitman? Moses? Jesus H Christ where are these people?
Where's the leader?
Take me to the leader. Sit me down with Alice Walker the potential terrorist.
The lady of dangerous lyric! Never mind Clinton. Never mind Bush! Obama!
Jail the poets.
Tear up the the children's pictures.
Wip your asses on their pomes!
Kill James Joyce. O what did I spray? That man's already in Swizzerland. He squats on a rock
like a gnome in a graceyard.
Bomb Tehran- or at least some place around there. Wave the flag. Send in Mossad.
O star of David.
The brightness of thy hope and strength and fame,
like the proud ship that led the fleet so long,
Beseems today a wreck driven a gale, a mastless bulk, and mid
teeming maddened half glad crowds
and Hell at the helm.
Be glad O Is-real
The Book of Revelations is open. The future is waiting. The Berlin Wall has fallen. The Chinese Wall has fallen. The Hadrian's Wall has fallen. The Wall of Jericho is fallen.
I fall on my knees.
I put away my slingshot.
I put away my suicide vest.
I put away my Kalashnikov.
I put away my Enola Gay.
I put away my Little Boy.
I put away my Polaris.
I beseech you O Israel
O United States of Israel.
O Obama.
O JFK.
O MLK.
O John Lennon. I imagine there is a Heaven
in a faraway northern country
in a pastoral region -
O ye composers and mighty maestros where art thou today?
Hail to Barenboim!
Hail to Beethoven!
Hail to Brotherhood!
Hail to Alice Walker the purple terrorist of the children's post office turned back by the coastguard at your borders at Pathos!
Hail to the letters from children embargo!
Hail to the bringers of joy!
Hail to the nuclear submariners!
Hail to the phosphor bombs!
Hail to the drones!
Hail to the poets!
Hail to Israel!
Hail!
Hail!
Hail!
Too late the phantom caressed me.
Too late I was there in spirit of peace.
Too late.
Too late.
Always too late.
O Jesus
why
were you
also
too

late






2 comments:

  1. Oh Gwilym - as usual you have hit the nail right on the head.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you Pat. I was trying to imagine myself as Allen Ginsberg ;) beginning a new version of Howl poetically of course.

    ReplyDelete

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