politics

i've written earlier here, probably several times, that i'm not a political writer. it has taken me years to get over my art pour art attitude and become what i suppose might be called a post-romantic. the poet is neither plural nor singular but both and what happens in the body politic happens to the body as well. the poet is not some lone genius suffering in the garret for the greater good of art. poetry is the language trying to express itself and then move beyond expression. politics is language too.

so it happened since sunday night's healthcare reform vote that proserpina in BLAST, my almost daily poetry writing project, is a bit more political if still a little circumspect in her temper. as for BLAST i think it might become my next chap but first maybe as a pdf that i'll circulate then later fetishize in paper form. it'll consist of short poems of about 20 or fewer. we'll see.

enough about that. on the healthcare reform bill i think ron silliman has one of the most lucid analyses i've yet to read on the subject. you can read it here. i also think that what is driving the tea-baggers is fear of a darker complexion of the united states with english spoken in many accents. the united states, the world as a whole, is brown and certainly the dominant surnames here in california are hispanic. and the fear of a second civil war that silliman concludes his essay is i think spot on. that fear might sound like paranoia but to poo-poo it by stating that that can't happen here is far more frightening because that invites complacency and complacency or outright diffidence can be manipulated by those who wish to remain in power and try to maintain an illusory idea of what the united states is.

i'm quickly out of my depth here. i'm puzzled by the vehemence of the working people i know against healthcare reform. surely it is a step in the right direction. i imagine once this becomes the law of the land and people realize the benefits of universal healthcare will be a sacred political fact, like social security and medicare. as for the cost of universal healthcare [and i use the word universal even tho i know the bill as it is now written is far short of this ideal. i am hoping that this small step toward a wider coverage of people shall lead to greater reforms and expansion] i'd rather pay for some one's hernia operation or radiation therapy than buy one more drone bomber. would it were a choice, make mine medicine for all, not bombs away.

i know a poet, the late thomas mcgrath, who was once black-listed during the mccarthy era who wrote magnificent political poems. mcgrath died in 1990 after living mostly in rural north dakota. he'd have made a great poet-blogger and i believe probably would have written some fantastic verse in this new violent political age. i'd read his poem 'A Momentary Loss of Belief in the Wisdom of the Common People and a Curse on the Bastards Who Own and Operate Them' at an anti-war rally just before we went to war with iraq. tho this is a poem against war mcgrath's vituperative concluding lines are an apt end for this little rant.

Politics is the continuation of war by other means.
And now, you celebrated American jackasses:
You still want war?
Go let a hole in the head shed light on your darkling brain --
Remember Vietnam?

Go and be damned!
But don't count on me for nothing you righteous stupid sons of bitches!