from Israel / Leonard Cohen
George Dance
Israel, and you who call yourself Israel, the Church that calls itself
Israel, and the revolt that calls itself Israel, and every nation
chosen to be a nation – none of these lands is yours, all of you are
thieves of holiness, all of you are at war with Mercy. Who will say
it? Will America say, We have stolen it, or France step down? Will
Russia confess, or Poland say, We have sinned? All bloated on their
scraps of destiny, all swaggering in the immunity of superstition.
[...]
Therefore the lands belong to none of you, the borders do not hold,
the Law will never serve the lawless. To every people the land is
given on condition. Perceived or not, there is a Covenant, beyond the
constitution, beyond sovereign guarantee, beyond the nation’s sweet
dreams of itself. The Covenant is broken, the condition is
dishonoured, have you not noticed that the land has been taken away?
[...]
You decompose behind your flimsy armour, your stench alarms you, your
panic strikes at love. The land is not yours, the land has been taken
back, your shrines fall through empty air, your tablets are quickly
revised, and you bow down in hell beside your hired torturers, and
still you count your battalions and crank out your marching songs.
Your righteous enemy is listening.
[...]
Because you are swollen with your so little time. Because you do not
wrestle with your angel. Because you dare to live without G-d. Because
your cowardice has led you to believe that the victor does not limp.
—
Leonard Cohen
from Book of Mercy (1984), sct. 27.
http://www.mcclelland.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780771021824
http://www.amazon.com/Book-Mercy-Leonard-Cohen/dp/0771021828
(Note for Karla Rogers: the above is by Leonard Cohen.)
Martin Grossman
traditional stance.
George Dance wrote:
> Israel
>
> Israel, and you who call yourself Israel, the Church that calls itself
> Israel, and the revolt that calls itself Israel, and every nation
> chosen to be a nation � none of these lands is yours, all of you are
> thieves of holiness, all of you are at war with Mercy. Who will say
> it? Will America say, We have stolen it, or France step down? Will
> Russia confess, or Poland say, We have sinned? All bloated on their
> scraps of destiny, all swaggering in the immunity of superstition.
>
> [...]
>
> Therefore the lands belong to none of you, the borders do not hold,
> the Law will never serve the lawless. To every people the land is
> given on condition. Perceived or not, there is a Covenant, beyond the
> constitution, beyond sovereign guarantee, beyond the nation�s sweet
> dreams of itself. The Covenant is broken, the condition is
> dishonoured, have you not noticed that the land has been taken away?
>
> [...]
>
> You decompose behind your flimsy armour, your stench alarms you, your
> panic strikes at love. The land is not yours, the land has been taken
> back, your shrines fall through empty air, your tablets are quickly
> revised, and you bow down in hell beside your hired torturers, and
> still you count your battalions and crank out your marching songs.
> Your righteous enemy is listening.
>
> [...]
>
> Because you are swollen with your so little time. Because you do not
> wrestle with your angel. Because you dare to live without G-d. Because
> your cowardice has led you to believe that the victor does not limp.
>
> �
George Dance
wrote:
> And your point is? This is Leonard in full-on prophetic mode... a very
> traditional stance.
>
I read it recently, and thought it was a piece worth reading. For one
thing, it's a good example of a prose poem; he's mastered the form
here. For another, it's relevant given the recent publicity over
Cohen's Tel Aviv concert.
> George Dance wrote:
> > Israel
>
> > Israel, and you who call yourself Israel, the Church that calls itself
> > Israel, and the revolt that calls itself Israel, and every nation
> > chosen to be a nation – none of these lands is yours, all of you are
> > thieves of holiness, all of you are at war with Mercy. Who will say
> > it? Will America say, We have stolen it, or France step down? Will
> > Russia confess, or Poland say, We have sinned? All bloated on their
> > scraps of destiny, all swaggering in the immunity of superstition.
>
> > [...]
>
> > Therefore the lands belong to none of you, the borders do not hold,
> > the Law will never serve the lawless. To every people the land is
> > given on condition. Perceived or not, there is a Covenant, beyond the
> > constitution, beyond sovereign guarantee, beyond the nation’s sweet
> > dreams of itself. The Covenant is broken, the condition is
> > dishonoured, have you not noticed that the land has been taken away?
>
> > [...]
>
> > You decompose behind your flimsy armour, your stench alarms you, your
> > panic strikes at love. The land is not yours, the land has been taken
> > back, your shrines fall through empty air, your tablets are quickly
> > revised, and you bow down in hell beside your hired torturers, and
> > still you count your battalions and crank out your marching songs.
> > Your righteous enemy is listening.
>
> > [...]
>
> > Because you are swollen with your so little time. Because you do not
> > wrestle with your angel. Because you dare to live without G-d. Because
> > your cowardice has led you to believe that the victor does not limp.
>
> > —
Will Dockery
"Martin Grossman" <marting...@mindspring.com> wrote:
>
> And your point is? This is Leonard in full-on prophetic mode... a very
> traditional stance.
Why does it need a point? It just /is/.
--
Red Lipped Stranger by Will Dockery & The Shadowville All-Stars:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBhcN1WK144
melia
> "Martin Grossman" <martingross...@mindspring.com> wrote:
>
> > And your point is? This is Leonard in full-on prophetic mode... a very
> > traditional stance.
It might have been his Jeremiah period.
Not too long after that, Mount Baldy rose to meet him.
Some things change, even the ideas of a man's mind.
Or of a woman for that matter.
Just as well.
George Dance
> "Martin Grossman" <martingross...@mindspring.com> wrote:
>
> > And your point is? This is Leonard in full-on prophetic mode... a very
> > traditional stance.
>
> Why does it need a point? It just /is/.
>
As you probaby know, Will, we disagree on that; I think a poem should
try to make a point. It's great that we can disagree on that, without
fighting about it, BTW: you write your way and I write my way.)
I actually get two points from it, which I see as equally important.
Most of the writing on Israel I've seen, including the poetry,
emphasizes just one of those points, and consequently falls into
propaganda. Those two points are:
1) The State of Israel is wicked, ungodly, oppressive, etc.
2) Every other State in the world is just as wicked, ungodly,
oppressive, etc., and so has no right to condemn Israel for it.
Making both points is what lifts Cohen's poem from propaganda to
tragedy. Israel is sinful, but its only sin is being a nation "like
all the other nations." (1 Samuel 8:5) The reader has to acknowledge
that he's as much a sinner (for enabling his own State), and identify
with the Israelis' predicament, because it's his predicament, too,
rather than condemn them for it.
>
>
> > George Dance wrote:
> >> Israel
>
> >> Israel, and you who call yourself Israel, the Church that calls itself
> >> Israel, and the revolt that calls itself Israel, and every nation
> >> chosen to be a nation – none of these lands is yours, all of you are
> >> thieves of holiness, all of you are at war with Mercy. Who will say
> >> it? Will America say, We have stolen it, or France step down? Will
> >> Russia confess, or Poland say, We have sinned? All bloated on their
> >> scraps of destiny, all swaggering in the immunity of superstition.
>
> >> [...]
>
> >> Therefore the lands belong to none of you, the borders do not hold,
> >> the Law will never serve the lawless. To every people the land is
> >> given on condition. Perceived or not, there is a Covenant, beyond the
> >> constitution, beyond sovereign guarantee, beyond the nation’s sweet
> >> dreams of itself. The Covenant is broken, the condition is
> >> dishonoured, have you not noticed that the land has been taken away?
>
> >> [...]
>
> >> You decompose behind your flimsy armour, your stench alarms you, your
> >> panic strikes at love. The land is not yours, the land has been taken
> >> back, your shrines fall through empty air, your tablets are quickly
> >> revised, and you bow down in hell beside your hired torturers, and
> >> still you count your battalions and crank out your marching songs.
> >> Your righteous enemy is listening.
>
> >> [...]
>
> >> Because you are swollen with your so little time. Because you do not
> >> wrestle with your angel. Because you dare to live without G-d. Because
> >> your cowardice has led you to believe that the victor does not limp.
>
> >> —
Will Dockery
> On Jan 31, 12:34 am, "Will Dockery" wrote:
> > "Martin Grossman" <martingross...@mindspring.com> wrote:
>
> > > And your point is? This is Leonard in full-on prophetic mode... a very
> > > traditional stance.
>
> > Why does it need a point? It just /is/.
>
> As you probaby know, Will, we disagree on that; I think a poem should
> try to make a point. It's great that we can disagree on that
I guess I need to backtrack on that somewhat, since I suppose a /good/
poem needs to make a point...
--
"Black Crow's Brother" by Will Dockery & Gini Woolfolk:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxO1RAYTIFA