"militaristic" poems
tell me what words are there
to articulate this savage parade
not here, not in all the Lebanons
whose crystal castles sparkle
like broken glass
on the dark horizons
at the jagged edges of the world
from which cultured minds have receded
and all humanity has been relinquished
to the barbarity of the frenzied flavours of fools
who will speak for this wild parade
without impediment to mythical protagonists
tell me where are the energised arguments
against sophisticated yet false laments
where testament is torn through
weeping cedar trees
producing the unpredictable accidental quality
that memorialises phantom caresses
that have neither been invented nor encouraged
the hallow that inaugurates
the distinctive features of
destructive energies that are both
exuberant and hard to comprehend
this parade where there is
a savage sensibility
capable of apprehending
contradictory ethical imperatives
that vouch for a mocking stream of
tragic political consequence
displayed vividly in the inextricability
of civil order and political violence
that defies exclusive claim
by casting itself as freedom warrior
in disguise as militaristic humanism
and burns the temple tree
and where human identity
becomes an elusive possession
owned by a few
who in the inevitability of ignorance
refuse to recognise their tragic error
and the world does not mount
a strenuous protest
at this headlong dash for Ephesus
where antagonistic language and
neutral expression of thought converge
and here the value of valulessness
repudiates, even in a single poetic moment
Aug 25, 2013
Aug 25, 2013 at 4:04 PM UTC
I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of
but I can't be tied to those forever
so people forgive and forget
I try to forget but still feel bad
and I know there are still sore subjects
that I should be sensitive about.
Scrolling through Reddit I see a post
of Māori students at an airport
greeting their returning teacher
with a traditional Māori war dance
which was an admittedly sweet gesture
but something didn't sit right with me.
I wondered why the students greeting their teacher
had to do so through a display of militaristic nationalism
I wondered if that was the last dance the Moriori people saw
before the Māori genocided them for their resources
I wondered if the Māori danced like that
as they ***** murdered, and cannibalized the Moriori.
Wondering all of this made me ask myself:
Why did they have to greet their teacher like that?
The students wanted to make a big gesture
which dancing is perfect for
but dancing can also be vulnerable and embarrassing
because people may mock how you express yourself
but strangers at the airport are less likely to laugh at you
if you're doing a synchronized dance with a group of people
and the dancing is recognizably tied to national identity
because then it's a culturally rich dance
you're a xenophobe for laughing at
and that's what nationalism is:
strength in numbers and a readymade identity
in lieu of an individual personality
oftentimes for the sake of pistanthrophobia.
So as I read the circlejerking comments on the post
I wondered what the difference is between
a Māori war dance and a **** salute
I guess the Māori people have experienced
more oppression than Nazis
but nationalism is nationalism
and those who have oppressed are oppressors
and many who are oppressed would gladly
be oppressors given the chance.
Nationalism isn't healthy for culture
and often isolates people from other cultures
that are all combining due to globalization
which people fight to preserve their little dances and costumes
so we can stay in eternal conflict over delusions of supremacy
when the only nationality should be a global one.
Aug 28, 2022
Aug 28, 2022 at 8:41 PM UTC
The future of warfare
Technology is different but the mentality is the same
Human beings will continue to be slain
But people will do anything to claim
That we need them
Because profit is the benefit of fear
We’re told to fear those “terrorists”
When truthfully that word doesn’t mean ****
They’re different from us, sure
But that doesn’t give us the ******* right to
Claim that every single one of them is a murderer
Aiming these weapons at them just makes us what we’re trying to claim
They are
Politicians will tell you it’s just protecting our “security”
When all it does in reality is make us less safe
They see us the way we see them
This is a big problem and this is why war exists
Assumptions, stereotypes, and ********
Made to sound pretty and patriotic by militaristic dipshits
Isn’t it time we learn that the line between enemy and fellow citizen
Is one that doesn’t really exist
The only difference between them and US
Is location and the names on a map
Their culture or religion doesn’t make a difference
None of it gives us a right to point a drone at them and go “zap”
Let’s start a conversation
Before we have another useless war
They’re just as human as we are
Jun 25, 2014
Jun 25, 2014 at 3:52 AM UTC
*Hey Christian state why do we perpetuate the hate?
We use tools of death to blow out the light of another man's breath
What about what we heard about people being murdered
From the one you represent with a celebration of Advent?
How can we follow him yet **** on the whim
Of powerful men who tell us what to do
It is clear that your peacemaker came to world to be a changer
Of the hearts of evil men to warn them of their sin
Yet we **** and **** never thinking of his will
That you pray be done in the name of the one
That you claim to worship while refusing the courtship
Of those who want peace bringing to earth a new lease
On life by allowing love to flourish instead we are seen to brandish
Other wordly weapons of destruction contributing to man's dysfunction
In his relationship with a higher power that has so clearly tried to shower
A message of love and peace yet our militaristic actions never cease
We want to go to heaven but our actions serve to unleaven
Our rise to a higher level of being blinded by lies the truth we are not seeing
I don't blame your patriotic thought you don't know what corruption has wrought
Over the years in a quest for power we want our enemies to cower
In the face of our national interest which conflicts with reality's firmest
Wish for mankind to come together and shed our fears of one another
Do you think God is only on our side someone is taking us for a ride
This supposed God is there for all even the man you desire to fall
I know it is confusing but there is no excusing
That the horror of it all is suppressed as we believe our cause is blessed
But the word was for all men, re-read the book you defend
It is clear what was meant don't try to circumvent
The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus brings the world to account
For actions that harms others so don't **** them, they are your brothers
You don't even have to believe in him or any other legend
To know the message is true yet so many speak but cannot do
It's time for a new day where our needs are not in the way
Of others who also want love from your supposed Lord above
If you believe he knows everything we do then it is not too late to start anew
Regardless of belief we must work with each other and not force them to run for cover
From bombs raining down from a nation wearing a crown
Of belief in the almighty causing Christianity to be unsightly
To others who wonder about us and how we can ignore Jesus
And his message of love and peace it is time for hostilities to cease*
Feb 12, 2012
Feb 12, 2012 at 11:47 AM UTC
Die Maske des Bösen (“The Mask of Evil”)
by Bertolt Brecht
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
A Japanese woodcarving hangs on my wall—
the mask of an ancient demon, limned with golden lacquer.
Not unsympathetically, I observe
the forehead’s bulging veins,
the strain
such malevolence requires.
Original German text:
Die Maske des Bösen
An meiner Wand hängt ein japanisches Holzwerk
Maske eines bösen Dämons, bemalt mit Goldlack.
Mitfühlend sehe ich
Die geschwollenen Stirnadern, andeutend
Wie anstrengend es ist, böse zu sein.
Bertolt Brecht [1898-1956] was a major German poet, playwright, novelist, humorist, essayist, theater director and songwriter. Brecht fled Germany in 1933, when ****** assumed power. A number of Brecht's poems were written from the perspective of a man who sees his country becoming increasingly fascist, xenophobic and militaristic. Keywords/Tags: Bertolt Brecht, German, translation, Holocaust, poem, Japanese, carving, mask, demon, evil, malevolence, sympathy, compassion, understanding, feeling, forehead, veins, swollen, bulging, effort, strain, exhausting, concentration, suggest, suggesting, suggestive, demonstrating, revealing, showing, wall, gold, golden, lacquer, paint, woodwork, totem, malice, hatred, enmity, spite, spitefulness, animosity, anger, maliciousness, malignancy, venom, spleen, viciousness
Bertolt Brecht Epigrams and Quotations
These are my modern English translations of epigrams and quotations by Bertolt Brecht.
Everyone chases the way happiness feels,
unaware how it nips at their heels.
— loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The world of learning takes a crazy turn
when teachers are taught to discern!
— loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Unhappy, the land that lacks heroes.
— loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Hungry man, reach for the book:
it's a hook,
a harpoon.
— loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Because things are the way they are,
things can never stay as they were.
— loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
War is like love; true ...
it finds a way through.
— loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
What happens to the hole
when the cheese is no longer whole?
— loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
It is easier to rob by setting up a bank
than by threatening the poor clerk.
— loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Do not fear death so much, or strife,
but rather fear the inadequate life.
— loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Keywords/Tags: Bertolt Brecht, translation, translations, German, modern English, epigram, epigrams, quote, quotes, quotations
Mar 20, 2020
Mar 20, 2020 at 11:50 PM UTC
*Soldier retrograde street-fighter
Molotov pressure cooker Christian
time bomb exploder carpet bomber
terroristic naval artillery quagmire
knee deep hell bent atrocity filled
suicide Iran bomber shotgun strafe militaristic
sweep Marine Muslim civilian shopping
mall siege dependent oil driven world
leader Russian handshaker photograph maker
invader*
Aug 15, 2016
Aug 15, 2016 at 1:57 PM UTC
Come one, come all
to the show on parade.
The polished masterpiece
arranged for display.
With a trimmed suit,
styled hair, colored averagely
they look over her and her credentials
with skepticism and indignant faces.
It's all about how you
look on paper,
it seems.
Whether your linkedin account
has enough connections
or if your GPA
is higher than the price of
gasoline.
No longer important
is the measure of one's heart
or one's eagerness to learn,
because no one will give you
a glance, without three
references and a concrete
resume to support your
near militaristic agenda
at finding the right place
to work.
Mar 11, 2014
Mar 11, 2014 at 11:19 PM UTC
i need something new to be proud of
for pride is fleeting, it doesn't last
the Buddha would say to lose the desire for it
turn away and let it pass
but consumerism won't have it
they'd rather i covet my neighbors goods
and above, the Divine stays silent
making me choose what i think i should
the thorny crown is the work of madmen
and the ****** weapon became sacred somehow
they say demons fear it, won't go near it
but I'd think they'd celebrate that now
I'd rather not focus on death
desperately trying to find some magic meaning
we should instead focus on life
and what we can learn from sacred teachings
others obsess with demolitions
easily offended and militaristic
the result is an endless conflict
what is wrong with all these religions?
Lord, something needs to set us straight
have you a new saint or prophet to send our way?
would we even be receptive
or would we **** him just the same?
please tell me there is hope for us
oh "Lord of holy hosts"
please tell us you're compassionate
and your "armies" are a hoax.
Jun 29, 2017
Jun 29, 2017 at 10:17 PM UTC
Militaristic
the gist of society
only ends badly
Kelly McManus
Oct 9, 2021
Oct 9, 2021 at 11:18 AM UTC