{"id":1336498,"date":"2023-11-17T06:54:27","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T06:54:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.counterpunch.org\/?p=305198"},"modified":"2023-11-17T06:54:27","modified_gmt":"2023-11-17T06:54:27","slug":"the-carnage-in-gaza-cries-out-for-repudiation-and-opposition-maybe-poetry-can-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/11\/17\/the-carnage-in-gaza-cries-out-for-repudiation-and-opposition-maybe-poetry-can-help\/","title":{"rendered":"The Carnage in Gaza Cries Out for Repudiation and Opposition. Maybe Poetry Can Help."},"content":{"rendered":"\"\"<\/a>\n
\"\"

Photograph Source: Wafa (Q2915969) – CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Two centuries ago, Percy Shelley wrote that \u201cpoets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.\u201d Yet elite power has routinely vetoed their best measures. Still, the ability of poetry to inspire and nurture is precious, including when governments are on protracted killing sprees.<\/p>\n

In Gaza, more than 11,000 civilians<\/a> have been killed since early October. Children are perishing at an average rate of 10 deaths per hour<\/a>. The ongoing slaughter by Israeli forces — supported by huge military aid from the United States — follows Hamas\u2019s atrocities on Oct. 7 in Israel, where the latest estimate of the death toll is 1,200 including at least 846 civilians<\/a> in addition to some 200 hostages.<\/p>\n

But numbers don\u2019t get us very far in human terms. And news accounts have limited capacities to connect with real emotions.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where poetry can go far beyond where journalism fails. A few words from a poet might chip away at the frozen blocks that support illegitimate power. And we might gain strength from the clarity that a few lines can bring.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b>Stanley Kunitz wrote<\/a>:<\/p>\n

In a murderous time<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the heart breaks and breaks<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and lives by breaking.<\/i><\/p>\n

It is necessary to go<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 through dark and deeper dark<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and not to turn.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIn a dark time,\u201d Theodore Roethke wrote<\/a>, \u201cthe eye begins to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bob Dylan wrote<\/a> lines that could now be heard as addressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Biden:<\/p>\n

You fasten all the triggers
\nFor the others to fire
\nThen you sit back and watch
\nWhen the death count gets higher
\nYou hide in your mansion
\nWhile the young people’s blood
\nFlows out of their bodies
\nAnd is buried in the mud<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/i>June Jordan wrote<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I was born a Black woman
\n<\/i>and now
\n<\/i>I am become a Palestinian
\n<\/i>against the relentless laughter of evil
\n<\/i>there is less and less living room
\n<\/i>and where are my loved ones?<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the United States, far away from the carnage, viewers and listeners and readers can easily prefer not to truly see that \u201ctheir\u201d government is helping Israel to keep killing thousands upon thousands of Palestinian children and other civilians. \u201cI call it cruel and maybe the root of all cruelty \/ to know what occurs but not recognize the fact,\u201d a poem<\/a> by William Stafford says.<\/p>\n

From Pink Floyd:<\/a><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t accept that what\u2019s happening
\n<\/i>Is just a case of others\u2019 suffering
\n<\/i>Or you\u2019ll find that you\u2019re joining in
\n<\/i>The turning away<\/i><\/p>\n

. . . .<\/i><\/p>\n

Just a world that we all must share
\n<\/i>It\u2019s not enough just to stand and stare
\n<\/i>Is it only a dream that there\u2019ll be
\n<\/i>No more turning away?<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Franz Kafka wrote<\/a>: \u201cYou can hold yourself back from the sufferings of the world, that is something you are free to do and it accords with your nature, but perhaps this very holding back is the one suffering you could avoid.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post The Carnage in Gaza Cries Out for Repudiation and Opposition. Maybe Poetry Can Help.<\/a> appeared first on CounterPunch.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

This post was originally published on CounterPunch.org<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two centuries ago, Percy Shelley wrote that \u201cpoets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.\u201d Yet elite power has routinely vetoed their best measures. Still, the ability of poetry to inspire and nurture is precious, including when governments are on protracted killing sprees. In Gaza, more than 11,000 civilians have been killed since early October. More<\/a><\/p>\n

The post The Carnage in Gaza Cries Out for Repudiation and Opposition. Maybe Poetry Can Help.<\/a> appeared first on CounterPunch.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1336498"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1336498"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1336498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1336499,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1336498\/revisions\/1336499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1336498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1336498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1336498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}