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Namehay Bad (Letters in the Wind)

by Mainon A Schwartz

The city speaks:

            And her voice is carried

            Mouth to hand, speaker to ear

            The hiding is the same as the revealing.

            The loving is the same as the devouring.

            The killing is the same as the redeeming.

 

But such words are tempest-tossed: to me

They’ve lost their meaning even as

They’ve borne me, beaming:

 

The killing is the same as the redeeming.

 

The city speaks:

            The illusions are the same as the alluding.

12/01/2003

Author's Note: Beyond the allusions to Emma Lazarus and C.S. Lewis, there's the illusion of a message here: think about how often identicalities disguise themselves as opposites. All Christians have been taught that redemption was brought about by a killing, a crucifixion. And as Americans, we set ourselves up as the lady with the lamp beside the golden door, loving, welcoming-- right? But we devour those who are unlike us, in the name of saving them. So we're back to killing being the same as the redeeming. *Sigh*

Posted on 12/01/2003
Copyright © 2024 Mainon A Schwartz

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Rachelle Howe on 12/02/03 at 11:50 PM

you've grown so much. the tempest stanza pokes and shoots holes in me. this is by far one of my favorites from you: so much so, i put it on my "list." the first one, in fact. *salivate* this is absolutely brilliant. okay. that doesn't even begin to describe. this will be my third time reading it, and many more to come, by far.

Posted by Mary J Anna on 06/30/06 at 01:46 AM

oh this rings so true and you said it well. very nicely done. :) thank you.

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