Submission by Lawrence Beck

[Doctor Fab]

here is Lawrence Beck's poem for the Anthology:

"United We Stand - Poets Against Terror"

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Lawrence Beck
Date: 2017-07-21 2:23 GMT+02:00
Subject: Re: Anthology "Poets Against Terror" [2]
To: Doctor Fab
Cc: Ebook Poetry Against Terror <ebook-poetry-against-terror@googlegroups.com>, 14-poetry-for-children@googlegroups.com, "9. Women and Society" <9-women-and-society@googlegroups.com>, "ebook-poets--inequality@googlegroups.com" <ebook-poets--inequality@googlegroups.com>

Submission by Lawrence Beck

Judge, Jury, and Wine Aficionado

I know. I pick nits, and I'll be locked away
For doing so. I sit inside my lovely home,
A glass of malbec close at hand, to watch
A hand-picked Aryan read off some
Snippets of the news. A man, who dressed
In women's clothes, drew close to a bus
Full of soldiers gridlocked in Islamabad,
And blew up himself, killing ten. The
Aryan, appropriately grave, pronounces
What was done to be an act of terrorism.
"You're a tool," I intone.  Attacks on
Soldiers may be sad, but they aren't acts
Of terrorism. What they are are acts
Of war, fighters killing fighters. All is
Fair in that respect, in war. By now
The Aryan's moved on. It's seems our
Side's intrepid warriors have mistaken
Men and women dancing at a wedding
For a meeting of our enemies, and they
Have slaughtered lots of them. He says
That's not terrorism. It is just an accident.
I say, “Go ask those who lived.
They'll tell you you are wrong.”

[Richard Deodati]

An unusual submission from a unique point of view, one of decadence and privilege is, nonetheless, meaningful in it's condemnation of acts of terrorism. "Go ask those who lived" is pronounced by the author, Lawrence Beck, in no uncertain terms. An interesting slant, one that should be read and read again, as it is indicative of how a good deal of the world reacts to much of the violence of terrorism.