101 Poems against war

I bought this book - 101 Poems against war. Its not as good or as bad as I thought it might be when I bought it(amazon.co.uk).Its got poems by Emily Dickinson (one of my favourite pieces), Yeats, Seamus Heaney, Rudyard Kipling. For all I dont like about Kipling and all I like about him, there are these lovely epitaphs he wrote during the War:
" If any questions why we died,
Tell them, because our fathers lied"

A SON:
"My son was killed while laughing at some jest,I would
I knew
What it was, and it might serve me in time when jests
are few."

The ones I like the best though are some of the non- English poets. One I like the best is this poem about the 2nd world war by Bertolt Brecht titled "War Has Been Given A Bad Name". Its a lovely ironic poem about how the 2nd world war is viewed as more immoral than the first. Its ten lines detailing the Nazis and how professional, industry, academics allegedly protested against the Nazis and therefore deplored the Nazi actions but not the war. It ends by implying that germans think the war was not immoral, just the Nazis were. Incredible! There is another French poem about parents continuing their pastoral life while their son lies in the graveyard and their routine doesn't change except for daily trips to the graveyard.

There are lots of poems about the futility of war and death of young men. I love poetry only because its far more poignant, musical and often mystical. I spend lots of time trying to read the poem correctly - find its metre and rhythm. I invariably find that I ponder, dream and muse more after reading poetry rather than prose.


Talking about war - I remember my outrage and frustration at the Lebanese war six months ago by Israel under some really obscure excuse - I was even angrier than when the US and UK invaded Iraq. Is that because Saddam was being evicted in Iraq? Wouldn't it be great if the whole world could be like BIG BROTHER and we could evict dictators and leaders across the world by a ballot! Call into the UN security Council for your vote - calls cost ISD 60Rupees - some networks may charge extra for the calls.

Talking about poetry - Newsweek yesterday was discussing Daljit Nagra, an British asian poet writing about his life as an Indian immigrant in the UK ina funny, humorous way. I havent read the poems but might buy his book to be released in Feb.

WORLD BIG BROTHER!! What do you think? Will we get racist remarks in that house? Let me imagine Bush, Hugo Chavez, Chirac and Ahmadinejad - Shilpa and Jane Goody pale in comparison compared to these guys!