Abe Nathan dons black and says:
Nor shall I change the colour of my
dress until peace is declared in Israel.
He flies over Egypt to bomb Cairo
with flowers. The scent dispersed upon
the breeze the breath of the PLO.
He would dream the muffled explosions
in ancient streets the thunder
of looms and the moon over the Sinai
a Lady of Gallant Memory. He would dream
the sun a copper scroll, and of peace
perfumed with cedar and cypress, of
pomegranate, bitter herbs and balsam.
The thought that catches in the
throat wakes him the shout of
Iraq. I will waste half your country
with flame. He wakes to the taste
of Saddam Husseins binary spittle, rips
his garments in grief. In this clear
cut country, snap your fingers,
watch sound bounce off rock. He dreams
that one profound thought unspoken
will change the minds of humankind.
O America! a poet is a detective
shadowing himself. Dashiell Hammett,
your success too late, success too soon.
You didnt find sufficient fog in San
Francisco to cover as the Great American Op.
The McCarthy era burned you off
from the 50s, left the last twenty years
of your life a shredded, dud cheque,
the profound terror of the final breath
made thin the man you knew. Patriot
to the country which disowned you, your
last gasp became that of a silencer.
America, you try to cheer yourself up
but youre too easy on yourself.
Watch the coral reefs off Johnstons atoll
grow the black scabs of car tires.
Watch Hectors dolphin drown in
the gill-nets off Banks Peninsula.
From the North Sea watch the slick seals
wash up dead on the Island of Texel.
Watch the Pacific united all around us
lie snug and blue as a body bag.