<div>The line "and God will fill the bullet holes with candy." from Rosten's "Guernica" is one of the best examples of what poetry can do: express a tremendous amount of meaning in very few words. And on that note, with four posts today from yours truly, I'm over the limit, so that's all folks...</div>
<div><br>Guernica<br>by Norman Rosten<br><br>In Guernica the dead children<br>Were laid out in order upon the sidewalk,<br>In their white starched dresses,<br>In their pitiful white dresses.<br>On their foreheads and breasts<br>
Are the little holes where death came in<br>As thunder, while they were playing<br>Their important summer games.<br>Do not weep for them, *madre*.<br>They are gone forever, the little ones,<br>Straight to heaven to the saints,<br>
and God will fill the bullet-holes with candy.<br><br> </div>
<div><span class="gmail_quote">On 4/27/09, <b class="gmail_sendername">Tom Hansen</b> <<a href="mailto:thansen@moscow.com">thansen@moscow.com</a>> wrote:</span>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">Ted -<br><br>My apologies for my misinterpretation of your comments.<br><br>Perhaps a more appropriate song selection may be . . .<br>
<br>"With God On Our Side"<br>By Joan Baez<br><br><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pih1hVdflnQ">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pih1hVdflnQ</a><br><br>Oh my name it is nothin'<br>My age it means less<br>
The country I come from<br>Is called the Midwest<br>I's taught and brought up there<br>The laws to abide<br>And that land that I live in<br>Has God on its side.<br><br>Oh the history books tell it<br>They tell it so well<br>
The cavalries charged<br>The Indians fell<br>The cavalries charged<br>The Indians died<br>Oh the country was young<br>With God on its side.<br><br>Oh the Spanish-American<br>War had its day<br>And the Civil War too<br>Was soon laid away<br>
And the names of the heroes<br>I's made to memorize<br>With guns in their hands<br>And God on their side.<br><br>Oh the First World War, boys<br>It closed out its fate<br>The reason for fighting<br>I never got straight<br>
But I learned to accept it<br>Accept it with pride<br>For you don't count the dead<br>When God's on your side.<br><br>When the Second World War<br>Came to an end<br>We forgave the Germans<br>And we were friends<br>
Though they murdered six million<br>In the ovens they fried<br>The Germans now too<br>Have God on their side.<br><br>I've learned to hate Russians<br>All through my whole life<br>If another war starts<br>It's them we must fight<br>
To hate them and fear them<br>To run and to hide<br>And accept it all bravely<br>With God on my side.<br><br>But now we got weapons<br>Of the chemical dust<br>If fire them we're forced to<br>Then fire them we must<br>
One push of the button<br>And a shot the world wide<br>And you never ask questions<br>When God's on your side.<br><br>In a many dark hour<br>I've been thinkin' about this<br>That Jesus Christ<br>Was betrayed by a kiss<br>
But I can't think for you<br>You'll have to decide<br>Whether Judas Iscariot<br>Had God on his side.<br><br>So now as I'm leavin'<br>I'm weary as Hell<br>The confusion I'm feelin'<br>Ain't no tongue can tell<br>
The words fill my head<br>And fall to the floor<br>If God's on our side<br>He'll stop the next war.<br><br>Seeya at the Renaissance Fair and/or Farmers' Market, Moscow.<br><br>Tom Hansen<br>Moscow, Idaho<br><br>
"So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't forget to<br>have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous,<br>ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can<br>
produce. And when you get through kickin' ass and celebratin' the sheer<br>joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it<br>was."<br><br>- Molly<br>Ivins<br><br>---------------------------------------------<br>
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