[November 13,2015, Paris - Europe, our world]
Cowards, unworthy, ruthless,
They claim true respect for themselves, while
Not even pretending respect for others.
Cold stares, cruel stares, devoid of humanity
—Pity is not what they want.
In the aftermath of love and hatred
That colour their inner world
Their emptiness gives you the creeps.
In a race to the bottom, first you
Proclaim your withering scorn,
Devising a derogatory term to refer to them,
Then herald your pitiful disregard
And thus your ultimate victory upon them.
Yet, you find it all the more sad.
—Helpless, hopeless, forlorn
The blood rain keeps on falling gently onto
Barren ground.
.
__________
Nov.13,2015: terrorist attacks in Paris
For those who suffered and died.
.
For millennia, mankind has fought one evil after the other...terror is the evil for today. It is upon us now to stand up and fight for what is right...peace & justice. Thank you Sir for a sad but true portrayal of the sons of terror.
''It is upon us now to stand up and fight for what is right...peace & justice''. Yes, you're absolutely right. Thank you, Ketteth.
Hi Fabrizio. So, I asked my father, Rob Smith, to read and comment on your poem. He also downloaded our book, POETRY AGAINST TERROR. However, PH would not allow him to post (a glitch?) after three attempts, so he gave up...Here is his comment: 'Wonderful imagery. I'm unclear, however, regarding the ultimate victory. Is it that the rejection of our derogation results in a victory? How is that manifested? What is its result?
Thanks for replying. I see this as a consciousness-raising poem... Not a clear answer or solution, which as you know, is unsettling, but maybe, that's the goal?
Thanks so much to your dad, Pam. Yes, he is right. The ''ultimate victory'' is just for our conscience. The evil side of the human nature will live till mankind's last day, and the (gentle) blood of the innocents cannot 'fertilize' a barren ground (= cannot wipe out the evil living in the terrorists' mind) . I was born in 1953, so I didn't live (luckily) the sheer madness of WWII. That time, for a long period, many thought that 'reason' would have not prevailed. But Nazism was defeated. In the long run, also ISIL/ISIS/DAESH will be defeated. But not the EVIL inside us (= Humanity) . As I told you before: Santayana's saying is not fully correct. Also a number of those who can remember the past are condemned to repeat it... It's a spiral, with no end..
Reading again your poem, the image of blood rain is once more paralyzing! Very powerful metaphors, as well! The Greek translation is also a powerful conveyance of the spirit of your poem! Loved both!
ti ringrazio, cara Leoludia, per le belle parole che hai voluto dedicare alla mia poesia. E grazie anche per il giudizio sulla traduzione. Un caro saluto
_____________________________________________ THIS IS A NOTE FOR SOPHY CHEN, who asked for some of my poems to be translated into Chinese: to understand (some of the) meaning(s) of my poem, you can read the commentary Pamela Sinicrope wrote on it, along with some of my own comments below. Cheers. F. _____________________________________________