I am not "Charlie," but I stand with him...
Global community shrinking
daily,
one terrorist attack
at a time.
Fanatics will do what
they do,
regardless of the
provocation.
How sad the religion
whose God condones
violence, not love.
Shall we confront the
camel that spits in our eye?
Neither cower….nor
ridicule,
but stand firm for
the truth.
Beware “ignorance”
and “want,”
silent precursors of
rage and contempt
“Protect and defend’
isn’t the same
as “attack and
destroy.”
How can we let
strangers
dictate our
‘freedoms’ from afar?
Be the cure that suffuses
the veins
of rabid
misunderstanding.
I am not “Charlie,
but I stand with him…
You?
Prompted by d'Verse Poets Meeting the Bar: 10 Word Poetry. Not sure that I would call this poetry, just the musings and ravings of a rather medicated, cold-ridden writer on the world news of the past week. Much food for thought, and as you can see, my thoughts skip all over the place...
it is interesting....how we come together after attacks...i wonder how long it will last, you know....i am not sure the provocation of 100 pages of cartoons directed at mohammed that charlie has planned in their next issue either...are we not just fueling the flame then?
ReplyDeleteWaving a red cape in the face of a bull doesn't seem a particularly brilliant, does it? And therein lies one of the conundrums: where does free speech end and blatant provocation begin. And what gives anyone the right to ridicule another's beliefs or way of life?
DeleteI stand with them too ~ With freedom comes responsibility & this part bears repetition:
ReplyDeleteBeware “ignorance” and “want,”
silent precursors of rage and contempt
“Protect and defend’
isn’t the same
as “attack and destroy.”
Have a good week Ginny ~
A lot of wisdom in what you say. We have to agree to disagree, and sometimes I also feel targeted.
ReplyDeleteyep - i stand with him as well... and many do... that moved me a lot those last days
ReplyDeleteI believe in freedom of speech and freedom of thought. Fragile egos who cannot cope with any criticism, need to be hero worshipped, boosted with constant praise and acceptance are dangerous no matter what their religion or lack of it.......and surprise surprise.....they are mainly men!
ReplyDeleteA timely post....and very wise. Moving words, all of them. And, yes, I stand with him too!
ReplyDeleteDo we have any other choice but stand with Charlie? I did not like all of their cartoons but some made me smile, even laugh. In my opinion the only limit to freedom of speech is incitation to violence.
ReplyDeleteTasteless, crude, obnoxious, inflammatory? Sure, but that's just the way Charlie rolls. Excellent take on the prompt, pushing the topical, illuminating the truth; & yes, ten Word is poetry, as is haiku & other short forms. I love the fact that Brian went with just words, not syllables, feet, meter, & all the other parameters that make me dizzy.
ReplyDeleteAnd everything in the name of religion. Let us unite in peace.
ReplyDeleteA very powerful set here! My favourite is "Be the cure that suffuses the veins
ReplyDeleteof rabid misunderstanding."
Well said. It's been a rough start to the new year. We could all do good from promoting more love instead of violence.
ReplyDeleteAh, such a timely topic. I think I've felt/thought all these same things, though not expressed them nearly as well. I think your most important one is:
ReplyDeleteBeware “ignorance” and “want,”
silent precursors of rage and contempt
This is so important as the gap between 'have' and 'have not' keeps widening.
Excellent.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cressida, fragile egos are dangerous. Great work for the prompt, very topical.
ReplyDeleteThere's no alternative but to stand with Charlie. A very moving piece here, Ginny. Fine work.
ReplyDeleteSteve
Wow - powerful. I like your edited version of "I am Charlie". I find what they put our very vulgar and would never subscribe - but we must defend freedom of speech. "They" look for any excuse to murder for their misguided cause - and often need to excuse at all. I fear we are only witnessing the beginning…
ReplyDelete