What would Allen think today
about the black magic language
waving wanded words about
and transforming Communism into Terror?
Pre-emptive, ‘nukular,’ what fate awaits
and what has already occurred
from fake accented words
casting spells of misdirection—
smoke, explosions, mirrors
turned to Iran
after Al Qaeda disappeared back into the hat,
changing places with Iraq.
CNN’s lines of language
begin with the headline
“Terror Suspects Detained in Baghdad’s Sadr City”
and down the page reveal
May’s 119 American soldiers
mean we’re only 47 away
from Ginsberg’s own lamenting
language
Three Five Zero Zero
Fox News: “Bush Administration Asks Congress for
Expansion of Surveillance Law”
while they expand
we lose
words, phrases, speech
shepherd us back to obscenity laws
back to police shutting down Kansas coffee shops
(language language)
And where our Bob Dylans to sing
our injustices?
--Bob Dylan’s not even Bob Dylan anymore.
How can we turn misused words against them?
Count the deaths of words never uttered
or shot down
from Apache helicopters
ironically named for another people magicked away
from the minds of America.
Put it this way
send a dispatch to the vortex
of internet, television, syndication
resuscitation of American working language,
working truth,
working man is needed
shouting, singing against
Three Five Zero Zero
magic words to attempt to mend
Lady America
who has endured the saws
working together to cut her in half for
so long.
Author notes
This was actually written at the end of May 2007, for a contest that I never actually entered. I rediscovered this poem a couple days ago, however, and I still liked it enough that I wanted to put it up.
The style, subject matter, and a few lines correlate directly to Allen Ginsberg's poem "Wichita Vortex Sutra," which he wrote about censoriship, news propaganda, and the Vietnam War.
All comments are appreciated, but if they are negative, please keep them constructive.
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 9 of 9
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I am a huge fan of, "The Beat Generation". You have many interests and are able to put historical points into present political rhetoric. Also, you are straight forward without any relationship angst. That, is why I thought you were a man. Not to say that young women whine. However, read half the stuff on this site. It is usually young women crying about their boyfriends or unplanned futures. Whoops.
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That's true, I suppose (which is why I take great pains to try and stay away from the mass of angsty poetry on this site). But it's also true that men can write horribly whiny poetry-- for example, I was in a creative writing workshop a few months ago, and a guy turned in a poem that I sincerely thought was a parody of 'emo poetry.' I told him to take it even further to make it funnier. Turns out he was being serious. So it goes.
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Oh. This is a pretty cool poem that you have going on here.
I like political poems and you don't see so many of them. You'd think you would because of all the war talk and the elections and all that. But there's really nothing. I thought you did a good job in the twists and turns of the issues that you were bringing up.
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The flow was a little...lacking, but the content was fantastic. You incorporated a fairly large amount of issues while keeping it relatively short and easy to understand. I'm sure the ideas behind this whole piece can be supported by a majority of the readers, good job.
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nice write... I definitely need to research more on the situation in the US to grasp this completely, but ur write pretty much paints a vivid picture... I was, in all fairness, expecting a poem... but these words can very well be described as poetic...
I like the way you express yourself n hope u continue to do so as long as you breathe...
well done...
LR! -
Oh where have you been since I first came on AP a couple of years ago . . . I'm sure as hell gonna read more of your work . . . You hit the nail right on the head with your poetic hammer with this one . . .
peace, Marc
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I agree with the other comment "I don't have to always agree with what i read to understand the writer's meaning or feelings." However, I believe this is a finely penned piece about something you firmly believe in. Good job.
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I don't see this as in any way reminiscent of Ginsberg. For the first few lines I thought you were talking about Woody Allen. It seems odd that you were on first name terms with Ginsberg.
One other point: I see your pen name is "Cool Jew" - I am sure you don't need me to tell you that Woody Allen and Allen Ginsberg were both Jews - but I would be interested to know why "Allen" (spelled oddly like that) is a Jewish name, whilst "Alan" and "Allan" (the standard spellings, both being Scottish) are not. -
I appreciate your stand on this. You made it a clear and thoughtful piece with the use of great word choices. I don't have to always agree with what i read to understand the writer's meaning or feelings. You did a great job with this issue. Pen on... ~Poo~
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