Again Libya
It is that time
It is that time again
to call a spade a heart
Protecting the people of that desert country
by killing them
Doing so with righteous zeal
these faux servants of the UN
Humanist hawks and nostalgic imperialists
gather in a single tent
To once more break bread spill blood
Yes, but:
Qaddafi a genuine monster on the prowl
a demented killer
Addressing his tormented people as ‘rats and dogs’
Promising a hunt ‘alley by alley,
house by house, room by room’
Decreeing death for those fools
who dare snuff his candle
But war for whom? For what? Whose war?
For the clouds above
and their shadows below
For those who breakfast on oil
For surly arms dealers with mean grins
this war pleases merchants of death
As surely giant purchase orders will follow
Almost as the guns fall silent
The ‘rebels’ cheer the advent of missiles
but who are the rebels
Even their flags seem ill-chosen, evoking a lost past
Their struggle seems real, their bravery real
And yet does it matter– it is no longer their war
It has become our war to win lose or draw
They asked for this happening perhaps unknowingly
Didn’t they? Didn’t we?
As night falls Mars keeps smiling
Unlike some gloom at the Pentagon
where past lost wars are less easily forgotten
And yet these sullen military faces cannot bring peace
nor even rouse their tasered citizenry to dissent
Nor ban news channels glutted with agit-prop
at best a few wisely searching elsewhere for the real
Even sports or animal shows tell more truths these days
III..27…2011
Global Justice in the 21st Century 
Happy birthday and thank you for this very moving poem
Excellent poem.
In that same vein, I wonder if the Professor had written poems about the Vietnam War and/or disarmament. I think I speak for the rest of your blog followers: we would love to read them too.
Thanks, Norm, for the encouragement. Yes, I will try to post some of my older poems that dealt with Vietnam.
Right on, professor. Your poetry and your insight are great.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful master piece! very very sad for those forced to live on the brightness spot of the death lighthouse where pure souls also are forbidden to throw up all iniquities
I like your poem, Professor.
Glen Beck was quoting you on his show Today. He even played a recording where you were saying the collective punishment Israel imposes on the people of Gaza is similar to the collective punishment the Nazis imposed on the Jews. I thought that before I knew of your being.
His spin indicated he is not an admirer of yours. But don’t worry. You have Truth on your side and Glen spouts his vain delusions.
Wow! I really love this. Reading with and against the hyperlinks added dimensions I hadn’t expected; I found the Google Map of Libya particularly eloquent. Thanks for sharing this!
Thanks, Shari, your appreciation means a lot to me..
Happy Birthday!
I really believe the day is not far when people will be able to live with dignity, though the process may lead to lot of loss of property, life and culture and history in the bargain. However to achieve the basic rights of humanity, we have to sacrifice . God Bless.
As I felt I was watching the last shreds of humanity under Orwell’s “boot stamping on the human face, for ever”, I read this and knew I was wrong. Thank you Professor Falk, for being, well, Professor Falk.
That was very illuminating post…