RICHARD FALK
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The Iraq War Begins
- March 19, 2003
Hopkins, Belize
As terror strikes Baghdad
We sit idly by the beach
At odds with sand flies
Admiring a truly crimson moon
A Martian premonition of war
That haunts us here in Belize
As if fearing the worst
Will it be World War III?
Will it be a bloodless victory?
As terror strikes Baghdad
We can hardly imagine the fear
The panic in the eyes of children
The young there know only panic
We dare not think too clearly
Or panic will change our mood
Embracing the darkness of the hour
Or panic will demean the moment
Images of blood dripping from the mouth
Of prowling monsters drenching death
As terror strikes Baghdad
We ask for a dry beach towel
We admire flights of pelicans
We inquire after the mystic jaguar
Why indulge our morbid curiosity?
This is the hour to bury our heads
If only the sand flies would give peace
We could arrange an orgy of abandonment
Exploring ocean reefs and spying vivid fish
If only the sand flies would give peace
[493]
As terror strikes Baghdad
We envy the poor of Belize
Who can still laugh innocently
We fear the world we inhabit
Our world of luxury and exotic escape
We envy the strange flag of Belize
Its proud presence its heroic past
Returning as strangers to our nation
We fear the world we inhabit
We envy the poor of Belize
As terror strikes Baghdad
Some bemoan our helplessness
Others remain silent and afraid
Others get lost in maelstroms of news
Others write their congressperson
Others seek the solace of God of prayer
Others, a rare few, bear witness in Baghdad
Others breathe deeply the thrill of war
Thrilled by patriot songs victory promises
Others abide the purity of mountain lakes
As terror strikes Baghdad
As the bodies pile toward the sky
As the stench of death overwhelms
As our leaders promise progress
There is panic and anger everywhere
We have been betrayed by history
We have been betrayed by Enron
By Crawford Texas
By the American Enterprise Institute
All we now know is betrayal
As terror strikes Baghdad
[494]
Blood Is Thicker than Love
They say "blood is thicker than love" and yet
We walk the world searching for love
And claim the heart knows no aliens.
And yet we lie as good lawyers lie,
As diplomats selling their country's soul
To the highest bidder are trained to lie
Our hearts are not on the trading block
In this borderless world. Our hearts
Belong now and forever to tribal angels.
A prison of the will the mind deplores
Or is this dissent a modern conceit
As foolish as a maiden's first love?
Oh what can we romantic nomads ever do
If blood remains forever thicker than love?
[495]
Richard Falk received his law degree from Yale Law School, and subsequently
a J.S.D. degree from Harvard Law School. Between 1955 and 1961 he taught
at the College of Law at Ohio State University and from 1961 to 2001 was
on the faculty of Princeton University. He was appointed the Albert G.
Milbank Professor of International Law and Practice at Princeton in 1965.
From 2002 to the present, he has been Visiting Professor, Global Studies,
at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Over the years he has appeared
in many cases as an expert witness on international law issues. His most
recent books include The Great Terror War (Olive Branch Press, 2003),
Human Rights Horizons: The Pursuit of Justice in a Globalizing World
(Routledge, 2001), and Law in an Emerging Global Village: A Post-Westphalian
Perspective (Transnational Publishers, 1999). Falk serves as a member
of the Editorial Board of The Nation.
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