What whisper the dead -
fallen paper angels
layered like autumn leaves
damp
with their own juices
Curves of smooth skull
Length of swift thigh
now stilled
And still
you speak to me
of laughter
and your mother’s
silence
as they led you
away
The story of your death
is carved
in splinters of bone.
…getting all hot and bothered about a book: Cartesian Linguistics: A Chapter in the History of Rationalist Thought by Noam Chomsky. Never read it the first time around – well, okay, so I wasn’t even a gleam in my daddy’s dead eye when the book was originally published – but the first time around the Linguistics pinwheel… feeling the need to geek out hard to avoid the emo part of my life.
Yeah, I’m all bumming and shit but I just gotta say…
Can someone please duct tape Chirac’s mouth shut? And don’t spare any over his nose, either. Hee – Keith from GI Party lets us know about France’s new tanks. He writes, “Apparently they now have six directions: five for moving backward and one for moving forward (in case they’re attacked from behind).”
Go Iraqi Shia! Nothing like a good insurrection to support the liberating army! Anybody who still thinks this isn’t a bright idea should take note of the fact that in Iraq, protesters don’t just get stared down by nervous police, they get shelled. Um, ow.
Our troops rock. Take note.
Oh, and about that whole “why aren’t they out in the streets cheering us” whinging I keep hearing about – rent a fucking clue, people. The Iraqis have lived under a brutal, repressive regime for umpteen years – that instills a deep-seated set of behaviors designed to maximize survival. Like staying quiet except when called upon to espouse the party line. They’re not unhappy to see Saddam getting his ass kicked (and make no mistake, we are heavily kicking ass) but they are terrified of being punished for showing how they really feel. The bad guys aren’t gone yet – they’re on their way out, but they’re not gone. And let’s not all assume that just because the Iraqi people look different and speak a different language and have been living in these conditions for this long that they’re stupid. Stupid people rarely keep breathing for very long in dangerous situations.