In the Loop
~by Bob Hicok
I heard from people after the shootings. People
I knew well or barely or not at all. Largely
the same message: how horrible it was, how little
there was to say about how horrible it was.
People wrote, called, mostly e-mailed
because they know I teach at Virginia Tech,
to say, there’s nothing to say. Eventually
I answered these messages: there’s nothing
to say back except of course there’s nothing
to say, thank you for your willingness
to say it. Because this was about nothing.
A boy who felt that he was nothing,
who erased and entered that erasure, and guns
that are good for nothing, and talk of guns
that is good for nothing, and spring
that is good for flowers, and Jesus for some,
and scotch for others, and “and” for me
in this poem, “and” that is good
for sewing the minutes together, which otherwise
go about going away, bereft of us and us
of them. Like a scarf left on a train and nothing
like a scarf left on a train. As if the train,
empty of everything but a scarf, still opens
its doors at every stop, because this
is what a train does, this is what a man does
with his hand on a lever, because otherwise,
why the lever, why the hand, and then it was over,
and then it had just begun.
A boy who felt that he was nothing,
who erased and entered that erasure, and guns
that are good for nothing, and talk of guns
that is good for nothing, and spring
that is good for flowers, and Jesus for some,
and scotch for others, and “and” for me
in this poem, “and” that is good
for sewing the minutes together, which otherwise
go about going away, bereft of us and us
of them. Like a scarf left on a train and nothing
like a scarf left on a train. As if the train,
empty of everything but a scarf, still opens
its doors at every stop, because this
is what a train does, this is what a man does
with his hand on a lever, because otherwise,
why the lever, why the hand, and then it was over,
and then it had just begun.
*
16 comments:
Why you keep deleting posts? Its true: the shooter is a regestered democrat and a member of OWS San Diego!
I deleted your post because it is idiotic. What difference does it make whether this kid's a Democrat or a Republican? What is supposed to follow? It's always easy to find unsavory characters supporting anything and anybody. THINK.
I don't think its idiotic. Wasn't it ABC's Brian Ross who asserted the shooter was a member of the Tea Party? It was your side that jumped first.
My "side"? You are indeed an idiot.
Your troll apparently has some sort of point to make based upon some speculation about the shooter's possible political persuasion. It will be based on reason and logic, and afterward he'll tell us why it's perfectly acceptable to be able to buy 6,000 rounds for high powered assault weaponry.
I say, let him speak.
Sure, but he'd better be pretty damned entertaining. And not just because he's making a spectacle of himself, fool-wise.
Can someone please explain how an unemployed student can afford $20K of gear & ammo?
Come on you guys! We all know if the shooter was a Republican or Tea Party member, youd all be screaming "domestic terrorism!" But because thats not so, all we get is a lame poem about guns being good for nothing. Look, history proves the citizenry needs to be armed otherwise we get Mao's China.
OK, so the troll has weighed in with--nothing. He makes foolish claims and doesn't even bother with punctuation. Deletion would be more dignified for all concerned.
Unfortunately, Mr. B, you are correct; I had a dim glimmer of hope of a sensible dialogue.
My bad, as the kids say.
Instead, we get a talk radio/NRA talking point that (a) ignores the matter at hand and (b) is completely, and stunningly, ignorant of history.
Its can't be simply reduced to radio talking points, its common knowledge. The problem is that our educators have failed in teaching this stuff that sets our country apart from the rest of the world. If the shooter had been a Rep or Tea Party member, youd be all over this like stink on s@*t and you know it. Because it didn't turn out your way, we get this lame poem. The fact is the guy could have carried this out sans the guns.
I really am tempted to go through that response, point by point, in a valiant attempt to have a reasoned discourse.
That's ok, I got over it. Let's respond this way--look, over there! A shiny object!
A thought on domestic terrorism--let's say, a domestic terrorist is a person who wishes to destroy the government. I proffer Grover Norquist, who has admitted wanting to accomplish that task.
He has no guns in play, but just a pen. He then assembles the cowardly Republican legislators (a redundancy, yes), turns, and offers his flabby buttocks for them to kiss in abandon. Then he proffers his pen.
After slobbering over his fleshy protuberances, they vow to avoid performing their ethical responsibility as legislators, such as raising revenue when it's necessary for such things as schools, the environment, and any sort of safety net for the aged and the poor.
Especially if it meant preventing one of the truly wealthy from buying another yacht,because, you know, they'd be creating jobs and shit otherwise.
5:17, you are a poet yourself. Really nice; thanks.
"Raising revenue for schools" Are you f&*c'n kidding me!? You actually believe that line of crap? How bout that $52 million the park services just found? I recall they had us all believing that because they were broke and were unable to raise our taxes, that they were going to have to close all our parks... This "revenue raising" scheme looks like nothing more than another tax raising scam to me...
It's ok, 2.45. Some warm milk and a cookie will help you forget the very dangerous government people coming to steal all of your hard earned money. Really. Shush now.
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