Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Song and poetry for a dark time as spring comes again


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Experiencing tears of rage and tears of grief alternating with tears of joy and tears of relief as spring slowly arrives in the far northwestern corner of Washington State.

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Ah, the wars they will be fought again
The holy dove, she will be caught again
Bought and sold, and bought again
The dove is never free
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in



"Masters Of War" (Bob Dylan) Come you masters of war You that build all the guns You that build the death planes You that build all the bombs You that hide behind walls You that hide behind desks I just want you to know I can see through your masks. You that never done nothin' But build to destroy You play with my world Like it's your little toy You put a gun in my hand And you hide from my eyes And you turn and run farther When the fast bullets fly. Like Judas of old You lie and deceive A world war can be won You want me to believe But I see through your eyes And I see through your brain Like I see through the water That runs down my drain. You fasten all the triggers For the others to fire Then you sit back and watch When the death count gets higher You hide in your mansion As young people's blood Flows out of their bodies And is buried in the mud. You've thrown the worst fear That can ever be hurled Fear to bring children Into the world For threatening my baby Unborn and unnamed You ain't worth the blood That runs in your veins. How much do I know To talk out of turn You might say that I'm young You might say I'm unlearned But there's one thing I know Though I'm younger than you That even Jesus would never Forgive what you do. Let me ask you one question Is your money that good Will it buy you forgiveness Do you think that it could I think you will find When your death takes its toll All the money you made Will never buy back your soul.

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Bertolt Brecht in 1939 (Watch on YouTube to be able to read the tiny words)

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"In a Dark Time," by Theodore Roethke (first published in January 1960).

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"Take care of each other."

1 comment:

Pixie said...

It never ends. We humans, we go round in circles, repeating our same old mistakes. It's heartbreaking.