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Osama bin Laden - a poem [and notes]
| Open Poetry #16 |
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Osama bin Laden - a poem [and notes] |
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Glenn Logan Member
since 2001-10-10
Posts 111Virginia |
OSAMA BIN LADEN Osama bin Laden, we know you know no shame, yet still you invoke God's name! God, I am sick of it all! What kind of god inspires such devotion? What kind of god has Man made? Give me no more gods, please; I've had enough. And beware the lean and hungry apostles who have plenty to eat, but don't. Steel, concrete, glass, and human bodies fall. What mad man's heart allowed his mind to plan such death and destruction? Oh where are the old heathen gods who were satisfied with lust? Concrete steel glass and human bodies fall. What merciful god - or loving parent - could find joy in this rubble of glass, steel, concrete, and human bodies? God of the thousand hatreds: pray, leave us in peace! Where is the life? The joie de vivre that animates the child, that brings such joy to the world as my little daughters? Where is the foundation of this fear of seeing the human body except as blown to pieces? A child is not an enemy. A fireman is not your enemy. A non-combatant is not your enemy. You have no enemy worse than yourselves - you who find enemies on all sides, you in whom all truth resides. You whose father and father's father built giant buildings of adobe brick - some five or six stories high - who were the marvel of the desert kingdoms, the geniuses of the outcasts. What joy you must find in knocking down the towers of others - you who cannot hope to build anything close to Paradise, enjoy the thrill of knocking ours down - dirty little boys, never civilized. How dangerous the notion of Paradise! How fatally flawed the idea of a Heaven to come, for he/she who longs only for the Afterlife must necessarily depreciate life. Better a good, God-fearing atheist, who sees the folly of the invisible, and vows to make this life as good as possible. Lord, Lord of the Flies, of Death, of pestilence, of germ warfare and poison gas, of atomic weapons and sabotaged nuclear reactors - go to your Heaven - go now, leave us, Oh Lord of the Only Truth, leave us to be human, with some chance to be good. Osama: your so-called God is the spirit of Moloch re-emerging from the furnace, Huitzilopochtli, still drooling thirstily for blood, and Kali, she-of-the-thousand-skulls, re-born as a slutty transvestite, in sickening black dreams. Dreams? No, nightmares. Osama bin Laden, I am sick of fire, of screams, the falling bodies, the lives taken more horribly than those in the furnaces of Moloch, or on the altars of Tezcatlipoca or Huitzilopochli. Kali, Kali! Your troops are ready - your Assassins, your Thugs, are religiously well trained, have memorized the Koran, and learned nothing from it, and have been carefully taught to love the invisible and a never-coming Paradise, and to try to kill all the rest of humanity, then die. God! I am sick of it all! I've had enough of your God, of our God, of everybody's God who expresses the basest, most murderous instincts of mankind. Kali! Moloch! Tezcatlipoca! The Christ of the Crusades, and of both Irelands! They live! They live! We die, thanks to the visions of those who preach of The Merciful God. I see a new Huitzilopochtli, a tribal god, limping in from the desert, all-too-ready to skin your daughter, and make your blood run like water. I see man's murderous instincts released from the confines of civilization. Osama bin Laden: sicker than a vomiting dog, go - go with the Aztec Goddess Tlazolteotl, to swallow your own filth - and hasten - yes, hasten - to your Paradise! Osama bin Laden: may your tribe decrease! Glenn Logan Thank you all for your comments. In response to the requests of Doreen Peri, Dark Angel, and others for notes on the more obscure references, I will post some below. I wish to thank you, too, Marge Tindal, for actually going to the trouble to write some explanatory notes! I was astonished at this, though reluctantly I have to point out that the source used for info on Aztec deities is inaccurate in some respects: neither Huitzilopochli nor Tezcatlipoca is actually a sun god, although the former sometimes has some associations with the sun. (The Aztec sun god is Tonahua, although numerous printed sources are in error in this regard.) Tezcatlipoca in fact is a god of the night, a dark version of Quetzalcoatl, while the roles of Tlazolteotl are far more diverse than the notes suggests. As to the writer who suggested that my views would be different if I had ever lived in a third-world country, I can state that he or she is in error, as I HAVE done so quite extensively (and married one of my third-world neighbors), and my work for more than forty years has been in trying to understand other cultures and provide information on them for others. But in response to this misreading of my work, I will post another poem, "Al Sadi & I," which I wrote some years ago (and included in my book of poems published in January of this year), but which now seems even more relevant than ever. Thanks again for all the comments, favorable and unfavorable. Glenn Logan NOTES FOR THE POEM, "OSAMA BIN LADEN," by Glenn Logan Assassins: Although this word now can refer to any persons who kill others for political, religious, or ideological reasons, it began an Arabic term, hashshashin, meaning hashhash users, for members of a Moslem secret society who, during the time of the Crusades, killed Christians or other enemies while under the influence of that drug. Huitzilopochtli: The Aztec tribal god, to whom sacrifices of human hearts were offered in great abundance. Koran or Qu'ran: Principal holy book of the Moslems. Education in some conservative Moslem countries consists almost entirely in memorizing this Seventh-century work by the Prophet Mohammad. Moloch: Biblical name for a sun or fire god worshiped by several peoples in the ancient Middle East, including some erring Israelites. Children sacrificed to this god were made to "pass through fire." Kali: Hindu goddess of creation and destruction, usually depicted wearing a necklace of skulls. Best known in the West for killings carried out in her honor by the Thugs (q.v.) "make … blood run like water." See Huitzilopochtli, supra. Tezcatlipoca: The Aztec god of the night, whose name means "obsidian [black] mirror," and for whom human hearts also were torn from living human victims. "skin your daughter": reference to the Aztec's provocation of a war with a neighboring city-state by skinning the daughter of the visiting king of the neighboring state, supposedly as a sacrifice to the god Xipe Totec. Thugs: Anglicization of the Hindi term Thuggee, the members of a cult who worshipped the goddess Kali by strangling mostly passing travelers. Tlazolteotl: Aztec goddess of childbirth, but also the "eater of filth," whose actions cleansed the soul, and prepared sinners for death. The author: My book, "Prayers to a Dead God: 125 Poems," published in January of 2001, is available through online booksellers. [This message has been edited by Sunshine (edited 10-11-2001).] |
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| © Copyright 2001 Glenn Logan - All Rights Reserved | |||
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JamesMichael Member Empyrean
since 1999-11-16
Posts 33336Kapolei, Hawaii, USA |
Interesting writing...we will never understand him because we are not him...we have not been raised within his experiences. James |
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Mysteria 
since 2001-03-07
Posts 18328British Columbia, Canada |
Well welcome to Passions Glenn. Your poem was very powerful, profound, and I could feel your anger. I can appreciate the work you put into this one. An excellent write. ~I always have time to listen to someone talking from their heart~ |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
Welcome to Passions! You've come into a community where there is much in the way of understanding, patriotism, high spirits, and darned good poetry! We hope you stay awhile, and get to know us! And check your e-mail for a special Greeting! Karilea |
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catalinamoon
since 2000-06-03
Posts 9543The Shores of Alone |
Glenn, welcome to passions. I feel those strong thoughts coming through loud and clear. I am sick of evil being done in the name of God, also. Seems like most wars have that for a base. Bizarre world we are stuck with. Take care. Sandra |
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sunshinemist Senior Member
since 2001-09-29
Posts 595Fl. sunshines early mist |
Glen, Welcome to Passions. Good write, enjoyed!  smiles ~Marie~ |
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Enchantress Member Empyrean
since 2001-08-14
Posts 35113Canada eh. |
Very powerful write Glenn. You have put a lot of thought and work into your first post. WELCOME TO PASSIONS!!!! ~NancyLee~ ~I've loved you forever, in lifetimes before.~ |
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doreen peri Member Elite
since 1999-05-25
Posts 3812Virginia |
it's an interesting poem... very powerful indeed... i'm sick of it, too!!!!!! but i'd like to know what all those words are in this that i don't understand... i understand the english ones.. lol care to define them? thanks! |
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Dark Angel Member Patricius
since 1999-08-04
Posts 10095 |
Glen, a very interesting and Powerful read. I also didnt understand the foreign words, I'm with Doreen, care to define them? Welcome to Passions, you'll love it here Maree |
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Marge Tindal
since 1999-11-06
Posts 42384Florida's Foreverly Shores |
GlennLogan~ Welcome to Passions. A poignant piece that is felt by so many~ I've taken the liberty to offer explanations for some of the names you've used to help some understand, perhaps a little better, the use of terms with which they were not previously familiar. Moloch also Molech In the Bible, the god of the Canaanites and Phoenicians to whom children were sacrificed. Something possessing the power to exact severe sacrifice. Moloch (Script.) The fire god of the Ammonites in Canaan, to whom human sacrifices were offered Kali Hinduism One of the manifestations and cult titles of the wife of Shiva and mother goddess Devi, especially in her malevolent role as a goddess of death and destruction, depicted as black, red-eyed, blood-stained, and wearing a necklace of skulls. Tezcatlipoca Mythology The sun god of the Aztecs and the patron deity of warriors. Huitzilopochtli Mythology The tutelary deity of the Aztecs and a manifestation of the sun god Tezcatlipoca. Tlazolteotl In Aztec mythology, Tlazolteotl was the goddess of licentiousness. Thank you for such a strong entrance into our circle of poets. ~*Marge*~ ~*The pen of the poet never runs out of ink, as long as we breathe.*~ |
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Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
A very powerful write, and full of anger...and I'm afraid, hatred. I fail to see how regurgitating hate can ever stop it. And if you ever lived in a third world country, and experienced first hand the depths of poverty, perhaps you would understand a bit of where he and others are coming from. And I am not in any way condoning what he and other terrorists have done. The evil is unspeakable. And I do not accept that his instructions came from any God I know, but there are, indeed, many layers to this...and not all of them founded in mythology. Our lifestyle is partly to blame for the madness we see in this world. Look around with open eyes, open heart, and open mind. |
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Magnus
since 2001-10-10
Posts 14135South Carolina, USA |
WOW.....I am glad I am not him....for I would be very fearful of the person behind this message. Well written...very powerful.. |
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Alicat Member Elite
since 1999-05-23
Posts 4094Coastal Texas |
Wow, Glenn! Glad I read the notes first (found here /pip/Forum3/HTML/001364.html ). The definitions really helped further understanding of your poem. Also, thanks for taking me up on the offer to come by PiP (I'm persnikitty at the Yahoo PiP club). I really can't think of any criticisms...this one simply rocked! Interesting flow, historical and mythological references, and an apt undercurrent of repressed rage. Very well written. Alicat “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most |
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Tracey Member Elite
since 2001-08-29
Posts 2808where insanity meets breeding |
Powerful, powerful write. I can really feel the emotion here. Welcome, I look forward to seeing more from you If she who dies with the most toys wins, then can I have some toy boys please? |
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JamesBowie Member
since 2000-11-25
Posts 252big old Bangor Maine up by the shack |
This is a well thought out piece. The workings of anothers mind who grew up with you may be hard enough to comprehend, but the twisting of another mind under pressures we could not understand such as pure hatred, well you might just want to give up on understanding. |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
Glad to see that this is getting so many good responses! It's good to have you here, Glenn! Hope you find this to be a home you come back to often! |
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