i
blessed be the moment
when michelangelo placed
the hand of God
beside the hand of man––
for there is truly sacredness
within us
ii
in the days after 9/11
angels came silently down
to pray––
each new yorker, american,
citizen of earth was proud to be
with his brother
& the world tasted
a breath of peace
iii
… with us or against us!”
the reptilian lust
for vengeance
& the battle cry
for blood
iv
calculations purring––
the military-industrial-complex
went on the march––
one war leads to another
& another & another
v
lies, propaganda, oil, soundbites, talk shows, weapons of mass destruction, security councils, experts, situation rooms, volunteer armies, money, contractors, lobbyists, politicians, pundits, midterm elections, coalitions, occupations, accords, regime changes, sectarian conflicts, holy wars, terrorists, suicide bombers, civil wars, enemy combatants, hangings, court martials, military tribunals, orange jumpsuits, beheadings, renditions, torture, denials, terrorism, investigations, findings, sanctions, civilian casualties, land mines, civilian casualties, improvised explosive devices, civilian casualties, drones, snipers, surgical strikes, awakenings, assassinations, surges, murders, rapes, humiliations, cash payouts, contractor corruption, cover-ups, audits, missing weapons, investigative committees, pre-emptions, no-fly zones, war crimes, joint chiefs, suicides, post traumatic stress disorders, elections, political solutions, parliamentary collapses, insurgencies, failed states, wars on terror, casualties, civil war, civil war, civil war, repeat, repeat, repeat
vi
& what has the military-industrial-complex learned over time?
how to kill better
how to be paid more for killing better
how to keep human beings blind and forgetful
vii
& what have the people forgotten?
that killing is a deadly sin
that war is never impersonal or objective
that war is another name for hate
that war is a mutating human cancer
causing intolerable pain & devastation
that war is a curse & a profanity
that victims never forget
that all that lives is sacred
viii
we do not learn from fear––
we only react––
we learn from suffering
ix
have we not noticed?
that America can no longer summon
enough unity
to qualify as united states––
that America lacks the integrity
to be trusted as a friend––
that a people divisible cannot find
victory––
no blessings on our doings––
no taint of good faith in our word
x
America is stricken
with hyper-fragmented headaches
& a ruptured heart
xi
there are hallowed times
when the hands of God
& man can touch––
when gods & angels & human beings &
all of life
are one
xii
projecting our fear/hate
“over there” in force
produced only a shattered image
of ourselves
xiii
if we do not believe in each other
there is nothing to believe in
if we cannot see our brother
in our enemies––
our eyes shoot themselves
in the heart
xiv
the first world war
was an abominable innovation––
the second world war
was an unspeakable tragedy––
now, the military-industrial-complex
has profitably invented
global war
& out of unconscionable acts
of greed & vast arrogance
fathered savage jahid
xv
without wisdom––endless war
without brothers––countless enemies
without trust––no possibility of law
xvi
was 911
a meaningless act of terror?
a bolt from heaven to teach?
a thrust from hell to punish?
when the hand of God
reaches the hand of man
we’ll know