Monday, February 10, 2003

Yesterday Colin “Good Cop” Powell (henceforth referred to
in these pages as GC) called the Franco-German proposals
to disarm Iraq “distractions” that wouldn’t “solve the problem”.

What, precisely, is The Problem? That the US is not among
the top 5 countries in petroleum reserves? GC is right; proposals
to disarm Iraq are a distraction.

Raven spent most of the weekend distracted....

***
Raven is transfixed
by his face in a puddle
of dirty water
on the dock. Where fishermen
have emptied out their buckets

aromas of fish
leave a tantalizing stew,
and Raven tries to
identify each species
by its distinctive perfume.

This exercise in
discovering essences
of other creatures
prepares Raven to assume
their shapes, their identities,

add to his power.
He is sure he sees the quick
glisten of a fin
opening under his wing,
his beak becoming a mouth.

Evaporating
skyward, the puddle leaves him
gasping on the dock.
Raven’s foolishness, his pride
made him grab the bait, again.

***
And solving the Other Problem, aka Terrorism,
is like shooting at Raven on a moonless night
with a shotgun.

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