Revision:
I restructured four entries of Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words into one haiku sequence below:
Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, III: "First Casualty"
First Casualty
a time for peace
a time for war only...
a twist to PM's mouth
remember, remember
what Amalek did ...
fireballs burst skyward
night turned into orange day
a news host laments
the most feared word, context
police phalanx
Never Again, Never Again
for everyone
Genocide or not?
bounced back and forth between experts ...
peace candles flicker
(FYI: The title alludes to
The first casualty, when war comes, is truth.
Hiram Johnson (1866-1945), a Progressive Republican senator in California)
Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, I: "Context"
for Israeli journalist, editor, and chair of B’Tselem, Orly Noy
she laments
day the
orange most
into feared
turned word
night context
FYI: This is the first entry of my 2024 writing project. The title of the project is taken from the following remark on the role/function of writing poetry:
Poetry is insurrection, resurrection, and insubordination -- against amnesia of every sort, against every form of oppression, dispossession and indifference. And against the drowning noise of other words. -- Anne Michaels, Infinite Gradation
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, II: "War and Peace"
a time for peace
a time for war only...
a twist to PM's mouth
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, III: "Bombs and Hospital"
The Language of Cause and Effect
half-encircled
by soldiers and cameras
the President
writes "I rely on you"
on bomb after bomb
four children
crammed on one hospital bed...
a burnt boy's legs
hang over one side
to the blood-stained floor
FYI:
Haaretz, Opinion, Jan. 3: An Artillery Shell Signed by Israel's President, Isaac Herzog, Could Have Hit a Child in Gaza:
What statesmanship is there in the signing of a lethal munition, which in the eyes of the world represents Israel's greatest sin in this war – sowing devastation in Gaza and killing innocents?
Last week, a picture made the rounds of social media showing President Isaac Herzog writing the phrase "I rely on you" on a shell to be dropped on Gaza. He is surrounded by smiling soldiers in what looks like a joyful scene.
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, IV: "Never Again"
police phalanx
Never Again, Never Again
for everyone
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, V: "Genocide"
Genocide or not?
bounced back and forth between experts ...
peace candles flicker
