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Baghdad still alive - the Gap between two Poems
Baghdad still alive - or the gap between two poems, both can be a measure of time, in order to see if a city ravaged by war can be kept nevertheless alive? After Baghdad was invaded by American and other coalition troops in March 2003, there was no knowing what would be the outcome. The invasion was completed by troops moving what had not been destroyed before by missiles and bombs. It is called in military jargon the 'decimation of the enemy', or rather the carrying out of a death sentence; in reality, it is the civilians that huddle in silence inside their houses and await what will come next. There was no truce to come.
When the Summer Olympic Games were held in Athens 2004, the war in Iraq simply continued unabated. There was no respect for the Olympic Truce. This is why poets connected to safeguard at least something. In the United States, it was mainly thanks to an initiative of poets around Sam Hamill and others. These poets began to challenge the military language. They questioned but how can politicians a war by wishing to sell the invasion as if meant to bring democracy. Instead these politicians offered at times a compassionate, everyday view of things but linked to a permanent war against terrorism. And it was a justification without remorse, without apparent awareness of all the human pain it created in reality.
In that context I began to read this poem by Buland al-Haydari. It struck me when he said “Baghdad died of a wound inside of us” for “we are the nail, the city is the corpse”. It is a powerful image, almost Jesus Christ like, but unsure who dies for what, there is no sense to make out of such sacrifice. This becomes apparent when Buland al-Haydari says the meaning of Baghdad died inside of us. He means that the city will never be again the same after such an invasion.
When the Persians invaded Athens, the Athenians had gone thanks to interpreting in a clever way the advice of the oracle at Delphi. She had recommended that they hide behind wooden planks. At first, the Athenians took this to mean to stay behind their wooden fortification, especially of the street linking Athens to Piraeus. But then they thought how absurd. They knew that the Persians would come with their fire arrows. It would be too dangerous for them to stay in the city. They would burn alive. Then they had the brilliant idea to interpret wooden planks as meaning ships. The decision was made to evacuate everyone from the city. The Persians came, destroyed everything in sight, but as Marx said afterwards, they did not destroy the Athenians. When the Athenians returned to their city, they had their memories intact and with that they could rebuild the city.
It is amazing on how this story continues with Baghdad. It is after all a question as to how memories of a city are kept alive despite what has happened since March 2003.
Now, June 2006, the “Poets against the war” have sent another beautiful poem. This one is by Salah Al Hamdani. Again it is about Baghdad but written by someone returning from exile and with the allusion: "if you were a woman, Baghdad!"
Compared to the poem "The City ravaged by silence" describing the death of the meaning of Baghdad as it were, here is a poet trying to keep her alive with his memories.
It is significant that he speaks in the personal I. Too many poets tend to describe war situations in moral formulas and then they forget that the personal note, the individual, does make a difference. If poetry is about emancipation, it can elongate that ray of hope called sun when the sky is blue but the immediate history not forgotten. For terrible is the truth: 'soldiers still their thirst on our tears!'
I like the image of women brushing us with their hair when they bend over us.
Always there is love and without hesitation it bequeaths us with touches of life - through the hands, through what is love. There are lonely moments and still many others forgotten or forsaken. But after reading that poem you just keep wondering about the nature of these poetic insights into a city still alive despite of it all. Even more so I keep wondering about the gap between two poems only to be bridged by some grace as measure of time.
Hatto Fischer
18.06.06
- Files:
- Buland_al-Haydari.wav
- written-Buland_al-Haydari_the_city_ravaged_by_silence.doc
- Salah_Al_Hamdani.wav
- written-Salah_Al_Hamdani.doc
- Note: This article was first published in heritageradio
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