OntheWilderSide

I found this poem in a chapbook, on a table at the Poetry Project New Year’s Marathon Reading. I was startled with the resonance an old poem had with a new situation. And, I purchased the book. I thought it was a beautiful tribute and reflection on that moment when Iraqi journalist Muntadhar Al-Zeidi met George Bush.

Kimberly Wilder dedicates this poem by Mohammad Ali Niazmand to Muntadhar Al-Zeidi…

Story

“Don’t hit people with your eyes” (Sufi)
I am overdoing it a bit
Light bounces off everything
Yesterday a shoe went missing
Today we leave the window open
You play the clarinet horribly
This thing between us is abstract
One scoop is never enough
Lift your shirt, show me your navel
See! You’re still plugged in!
I hit you with my eyes
You perish in my arms
Without even a sigh
What a way to go
________________________________________
Poem by Mohammad Ali Niazmand
from the chapbook, “Wizard Poisonings”
(c) 2006 by Mohammad Ali Niazmand
Insurance Editions
35-48 80th Street, #52, Jackson Heights, NY 11372

News update on Muntadhar Al-Zeidi. Muntadhar Al-Zeidi is a war correspondent, know for showing the human costs of war:

(excerpt from) Chron.com

—

Al-Zeidi has been in custody since the Dec. 14 news conference and is scheduled to go on trial Thursday [February 19, 2009] on charges of assaulting a foreign leader.

Dozens of people demonstrated in Baghdad on Wednesday demanding al-Zeidi’s release. They carried banners reading, “We demand the release of the true son of Iraq” and “Al-Zeidi’s act is appreciated by all the honest people in the world.”

Al-Zeidi’s brother, Durgham, attended the protest and said about 50 of the journalist’s relatives will attend Thursday’s trial.

“We have fears that this case will be politicized,” said al-Zeidi’s brother. “We are worried that the Iraqi government will impose the kind of sentence that appeals to the Americans.”

Filed under: Art, Favorite Muses, international politics, Iraq, News, Peace, Political Websites, progressive politics, Recommended Poetry, US Politics, war Tagged: | al-Zaidi, al-Zeidi, Art, chapbook, dedications, George Bush, Insurance Editions, Iraq, Mohammad Ali Niazmand, Muntadhar Al-Zeidi, poem, Recommended Poetry, shoe, trial, war