Max Blumenthal's Second Report from the West Bank

Max Blumenthal is one of the Outside reporters Alaska bloggers assisted last year, when he was here doing research on Sarah Palin's religious background and its ties to her political thinking. He's in the Occupied Territories right now, working with Israeli and Palestinian peace activists.

His first report has been posted at Max's site. Max's second report was posted earlier today at the Jewish identity blog, Mondoweiss. I'm reprinting it here:


Settlers, farmers, soldiers, internationals

--- by Max Blumenthal

On Saturday I traveled to the South Hebron Hills, to the Palestinian village of Safa, with an Israeli group called Ta'ayush that works to protect Palestinian farmers from settler violence and documents the proliferation of illegal settlements (Ta'ayush is Arabic for partnership). Things were peaceful when we arrived in the verdant grove of grape trees below Safa. A tractor plowed the land, a few farmers picked grape leaves, and the Ta'ayush activists greeted members of Anarchists Against the Wall, and the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) volunteers were already on the scene.

Within minutes, however, a group of settler children clad in white tsitsis assembled on the hill high above the valley, rolling tires down the hill and chanting in a single, piercing cry, "Death to Arabs!" The children were residents of Bet Ayn, one of the most fanatical Jewish settlements on the West Bank and home to a terrorist underground that planned to bomb a Palestinian girls' school in Jerusalem. Recently a Palestinian resident of Safa killed a 13-year-old boy from Bet Ayn, setting off a series of violent reprisals that culminated when a masked mob of 30 settlers attacked two elderly farmers with clubs, breaking one man's skull and seriously wounding the other. Since then, the farmers of Safa have been reluctant to work their fields without international and Israeli activists present.

The government of Benjamin Netanyahu has lined up firmly on the side of the settlers of Bet Ayn. This means that the army is a de facto arm of the settlers and responds to their every command. As soon as the settlers became agitated by our presence, they called an army unit to remove us. Four soldiers rushed to the scene in a jeep, a commander ambled down the hill -- he seemed tired and unhappy about leaving his air-conditioned vehicle -- and presented the farmers and activists with a closed military zone order. We had five minutes to leave the scene or be arrested.

Then, a Ta'ayush member named Amiel stepped forward with an Israeli high court ruling stating that the farmers must have access to their land without settler harassment. He warned the commander that he would be sued and held personally responsible if he enforced the illegal closed military zone order. The commander huddled with his troops, then retreated -- a move that is often viewed within IDF ranks as a reprehensible display of weakness. The troops eventually vacated the scene and so did we, riding up the hill on a tractor to Safa. Joseph Dana, an Israeli Ta'ayush activist, told me the action was successful: there were no arrests or settler attacks (a regular occurence), and perhaps the farmers could work for the rest of the day.

I hung out with some Palestinian kids in Safa until our ride came, throwing rocks into a dumpster from a few yards away. This is what passes for pickup basketball in the village. The kids liked imitating me exclaim, "Nothin' but net!" Then we were off to Hilltop 26, an illegal settler outpost near the uber-settlement of Kiryat Arba, which dominates the landscape above Hebron.

When we arrived, four teenage settler boys were waiting for us. They immediately called the army, who arrived like clockwork with a border police unit and two members of Kiryat Arba's security force. The settler boys, who only last week attempted to set fire to a Ta'ayush protest outpost (now destroyed), went to greet the police commander and a few soldiers they apparently knew. It was a meeting of minds, a portrait of collaboration between fanatical Jewish colonists and the Israeli government. The army commander approached us with a closed military zone order, demanding that everyone leave the scene.

The army was aware of the media's presence, however -- I was filming and an Italian photojournalist snapped pictures. So the commander also asked the settler boys to leave. They protested angrily. "You can change the order to let us stay!" one of them shouted to the commander. "You've done it before a few times." But when the army marched us off the scene, they also escorted the settlers towards Kiryat Arba. Of course, the police commander walked with his arm on the shoulder of one of the settlers boys, but the relatively even-handed enforcement of the order was unusual.

"Normally they force us off and let the settlers stay," Joseph Dana told me. "This is the first time they've made them go too. But they will almost certainly let the settlers go back in a few hours. I think they only did this because the media was here."

Whether or not the settlers returned that day, their illegal outpost remained intact. It is just another stake in the Occupation, a rickety shack that, with the help of the Israeli army and the encouragement of Netanyahu's government, will someday be a neighborhood in Greater Israel.

image - Max Blumenthal at a pro-war demonstration in NYC back in January

Glenn Greenwald Interviews Eric Boehlert About Bloggers on the Bus

Eric Boehlert's new book, Bloggers on the Bus: How the Internet Changed Politics and the Press, was released today. Chapter 13 is about Alaska bloggers and our role late last summer and early fall, in helping the Outside press quickly get hooked up to helpful resources, after Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was chosen to be John McCain's running mate.

Salon.com's Glenn Greenwald interviewed Boehlert earlier today. Alaska doesn't come up, but Greenwald is enthusiastic about the book. Embedded in his review is a 30-minute interview with the author by Greenwald on Salon.com radio.

Jesse Ventura Continues to Courageously Confront FAUX News

I've read every word of the 9-11 Report. Three times. I've got it stored on this computer and two others.

One of its many problems, one that Philip Zelikow now acknowledges a potentially serious, was that some of the basic material seems to be or actually was obtained under torture.

Saradise Found - Chapter 9 - John Ziegler on Anchorage's Bob & Mark Show

This was recorded on May 14th, and was posted recently on YouTube.

Part One:


Part 2:


This review, by John Wellington Ennis, is not one of the raving, favorable ones Ziegler alludes to.

There will be a showing of Media Malpractice at the Fireweed Theater on May 28th at 7:30 p.m. Tickets will be $5.00, with proceeds going to Toys for Tots.

Progressive Alaska "Our Government Tortured Lots of People to Death" Week - Part Three

I've extracted these descriptions of the death of prisoners from torture by Americans, from an ACLU report. These are extracted from only a few of the of autopsies, released through the Freedom of Information Act. They were all ruled as homicides. Nobody has been charged in any of them.

These are the homicides from one of several pages of reports released. It's important to realize that information provided to the ACLU and other agencies on this is far from complete:

12/03/2002: Multiple blunt force injuries. Abrasion in upper right forehead. Abrasion on right lower forehead above eyebrow. Multiple contusions on right cheek and lower nose, left upper forehead, back of head. Abrasions on chest, lower costal margin. Contusions on arm, elbow, forearm, wrist, upper inner arm, groin, inner thigh, right back of knee and calf, left calf, left lower leg. Cause of death was pulmonary embolism due to blunt force injuries.

12/10/2002: Detainee was found unresponsive restrained in his cell. Death was due to blunt force injuries to lower extremities complicating coronary artery disease.Contusions and abrasions on forehead, nose, head, behind ear, neck, abdomen, buttock, elbow, thigh, knee, foot, toe, hemorrhage on rib area and leg. Detainee died of blunt force injuries to lower extremities, complicating underlying coronary artery disease. The blunt force injuries to the legs resulted in extensive muscle damage, muscle necrosis and rhabomyolysis. Electrolyte disturbances primarily hyperkalemia (elevated blood potassium level) and metabolic acidosis can occur within hours of muscle damage. Massive sodium and water shifts occur, resulting in hypovolemic shock and casodilatation and later, acute renal failure. The decedent's underlying coronary artery disease would compromise his ability to tolerate the electrolyte and fluid abnormalities, and his underlying malnutrition and likely dehydration would further exacerbate the effects of the muscle damage. The manner of death is homicide

06/06/2003: Died as a result of asphyxia (lack of oxygen to the brain) due to strangulation as evidenced by the recently fractured hyoid bone in the neck and soft tissue hemorrhage extending downward to the level of the right thyroid cartilage. Autopsy reveleaved bone fracture, rib fractures, contusions in mid abdomen, back and buttocks extending to the left flank, abrasions, lateral buttocks. Contusions, back of legs and knees; abrasions on knees, left fingers and encircling to left wrist. Lacerations and superficial cuts, right 4th and 5th fingers. Also, blunt force injuries, predominately recent contusions (bruises) on the torso and lower extremities. Abrasions on left wrist are consistent with use of restraints. No evidence of defense injuries or natural disease. Manner of death is homicide. DOD 003329 refers to this case as "strangulation, found outside isolation unit."

11/06/2003: Death caused by the multiple blunt force injuries of the lower torso and legs complicated by rhabdommyolisis (release of toxic byproducts into the system due to destruction of muscle). Manner of death is homicide. Decedent was not under the pharmacologic effect of drugs or alcohol at the time of death.

06/13/2003: Cause of death: Closed head injury with a cortical brain contusion and subdural hematoma. Manner of Death: Homicide. Iraqi male civilian detainee died in US custody 12 hours after a reported escape attempt. Physical force was required to subdue the detainee, and during the restraining process, his forehead hit the ground. Closed head injury: subarachnoid hemorrhage over brain, cortical brain contusion, right subdural hematoma. Additional injuries: fractured rib, multiple contusions and abrasions to head, torso and extremities. Abrasions on wrists and ankles consistent with restraint. Hemorrhage of right muscle of neck. No evidence of natural disease. DOD 003329 refers to this case as "1 closed head injury - died 12 hours after escape attempt."

08/08/2003: Iraqi National male was captured by Navy Seal Team #7 and resisted aprehension. External injuries including multiple contusions are consistent with injuries sustained during apprehension. Fractures of the ribs and a contusion of the left lung imply significant blunt force injuries of the thorax and likely resulted in impaired respiration. Ligature marks of the wrists and ankles. Remote gunshot would of torso. No significant natural diseases identified. According to investigating agents, during interrogation of the detainee, a hood made of synthetic material was placed over the head and neck of the detainee. He died while detained at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Cause of death: Blunt force injuries complicated by compromised respiration. Manner of Death: Homicide. DOD 003329 refers to this case as "1 blunt force trauma and choking; died during interrogation." DOD 003325 refers to this case with the notation "Q[uestioned] by OGA [Other Governmental Agency - non-military, often refers to the CIA] and NSWT [Navy Seals] died during interrogation."

11/26/2003: Male detainee died while in U.S. custody. The details surrounding the circumstances at the time of death are classified. Cause of death: Asphyxia due to smothering and chest compression. Manner of Death: Homicide. Significant findings of the autopsy included rib fractures and numerous bruises, some of which were patterned due to impacts with a blunt object. DOD 003329 refers to this case as "1 blunt force trauma and choking; died during interrogation." DOD 003325 refers to this case with note "Q[uestioned] by MI [Military Intelligence], died during interrogation."

01/09/2004: 47 year old white male detainee died while in US custody. Cause of death: Blunt Force Injuries and Asphyxia; Manner of Death: Homicide. Autopsy revealed deep bruising of the chest wall, numerous displaced rib fractures, bruising on the lungs, hemorrhage into the mesentery of the small and large intestine. Examination of the neck structures revealed hemorrhage into the strap muscles and fractures of the thyroid cartilage and hyoid bone. History of asphyxia, secondary to occlusion of the oral airway. Pleural and pulmonary adhesions. Hypertensive cardiovascular disease. According to report provided by the US army CID, the detainee was shackled to the top of a doorframe with a gag in his mouth at the time he lost consciousness and became pulseless. The severe blunt force injuries, the hanging position, and the obstruction of the oral cavity with a gag contributed to this individual's death. DOD 00329 refers to this case as "gagged in standing restraint" DOD 003329 refers to this case as "1 blunt force trama and choking; gagged in standing restraint." DOD 003324 refers to this case with a note indicating "Q[uestioned] by OGA [Other Governmental Agency - non-military, often refers to CIA], gagged in standing restraint."

04/05/2004: This approximately 27 year old male civilian, presumed Iraqi national, died in US custody approximately 72 hours after being apprehended. By report, physical force was required during his initial apprehension during a raid. During his confinement, he was hooded, sleep deprived, and subjected to hot and cold environmental conditions, including the use of cold water on his body and hood. Flexcuffs used around each wrist. Abrasions and contusions around wrists. Minor abrasions and contusions of extremities. Laceration above right eyebrow, 1cm. Contusion of right side of neck. Minor abrasions of left side of forehead. Subgaleal hemmorrhage of bilateral frontal regions of scalp. Intramuscular hemorrhage of anterior aspect of right shoulder. No internal evidence of trauma. No significant evidence of natural disease. Drugs and abrasions consistent with defribilation efforts. Rib fractures consistent with CPR efforts. Concludes that cause of death cannot be determined. There is evidence of multiple minor injuries, including "blackeyes", abrasions and contusions of the face, torso and extremities, side of the next and subgaleal hemorrage of the scalp. The decedent was also subjected to cold and wet conditions and hypothermia may have contributed to his death. DOD 003323 refers to this case with the notation "Q[uestioned] by NSWT [Navy Seals], struggled/interrogated/died sleeping." Preliminary autopsy report of this individual is at DOD 003260 -003261. Death certificate is at DOD 003300.

Progressive Alaska "Our Government Tortured Lots of People to Death" Week - Part Two

Jesse Ventura this morning, on FAUX News' Fox & Friends:


The FAUX guy is extraordinarily creepy in the segment. His talking points show how uninformed he is, but also, how well the torture apologists are sticking to their talking points.

Gov. Ventura is scheduled for a number of media appearances this week, to coincide with the paperback release of his book, Don't Start the Revolution Without Me.

Progressive Alaska "Our Government Tortured Lots of People to Death" Week - Part One

Please remember, the dialogue won't get to how many people our torturers killed from torturing too much, or carelessly, or vindictively, until Alaskans and Americans realize how wrong, immoral, illegal and stupid all this has been.

Here's Rachel Maddow on this tonight:


The attacks on U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continue. But as Pelosi's statements at the end of last week remain somewhat credible, the Right-wing noise machine has gone all "botox" on her:


And here's Marcy Wheeler's article today at Salon.com, called The 13 People Who Made Torure Possible.

Saradise Lost - Book 2 - Chapter 50 -- "She Could ALSO Be Getting Bad Advice"

From the Washington Post's Balance of Power online chat with Tucker Carlson and Ana Marie Cox, this morning:

Hollywood: Is Sarah Palin getting really bad advice or is she just plain nuts? Why would she weigh in on the Miss California gay marriage question?

Ana Marie Cox: I reject your binary choices.

I know McCain staffers who will swear up, down and sideways that she's genuinely nuts.

("Then why did you put her on the ticket?" I ask, to which they say, "It seemed like a good idea at the time! And, look, the polling improved!" To which I say, "But you're glad you lost, then, since it prevented a crazy person being in the White House?" Then they say: "Let me think about that.)

But let's face it, she could ALSO be getting bad advice.

++++

hat tip - commenter West Coast Annie at The Mudflats

The Best Blogs for Information on the Torture Debate

I. Over the weekend, the right-wing noise and lies machine attempted to steer mainstream coverage of the torture debate toward attempting to portray U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a liar, because she is disputing the CIA's claim to have fully briefed her on such things as waterboarding of detainees, as early as 2002. Radio show after radio show tried to evoke an image that, "if Nancy Pelosi and other Congressional Democrats knew about the torture, then the Democrats will drop the subject, to cover their own asses."

Well, that might work on getting legislators like Pelosi, Harry Reid, Jane Harmon and other right-of-center national security committee Democrats who may or may not have known more than they have let on, to be more reticent, or even silent. But it won't keep real progressives and liberal Democrats from continuing to do everything they can to get the truth out, and justice served, even if it takes down some powerful Democrats.

As I observed earlier in the month, few Alaska blogs have spent much space or time on the torture debate. Shannyn Moore, at her blog and on radio appearances, has led the way. Progressive Alaska is going to spend a lot of time on it this week.

II. Also, this blog is the only Alaska progressive blog to post fairly continuously on Israeli-Palestinian issues. That is in large part due to my close relationship to the issue through continuing performances of my work, The Skies are Weeping, which was about aspects of this set of issues. Also, as I write this post, President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu are meeting in the White House. To help set the tone for the meeting, the Israeli government announced early today:

Israel has begun constructing a new settlement in the northern West Bank for the first time in 26 years, Army Radio reported.

The move comes on the eve of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's first meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, despite Western calls for Israel to halt its settlement activity.

Tenders have been issued for 20 housing units in the new Maskiot settlement and contractors have arrived on site to begin foundational work, the radio reported.

Also, something that brings coverage of I/P issues to the fore here, is the presence of my good friend, Max Blumenthal, in the occupied territories. He's making a film about confrontations along the apartheid wall, and is reporting on what he's witnessing:

I have been in the West Bank of Palestine all week filming a video series on the Occupation that I will release in a few days. Yesterday, I traveled to Ni’lin, a town in the West Bank that has been the site of weekly demonstrations against the construction of a portion of the Israeli separation wall that would effectively and deliberately annex farmland from the villagers for a nearby Jewish settlement. Each week the Israeli Army puts down Ni’lin’s demonstrations in a draconian manner, escalating from the firing of teargas from surrounding hillsides to rubber bullets and live fire when they invade the town center.

Yesterday, true to form, the army set up positions in the hills above the village and began firing teargas volleys towards a cluster of about 30 demonstrators seeking to block the path of the wall’s construction. I stood behind the demonstrators and filmed. Within minutes we were blanketed by teargas as canisters exploded all around us. My eyes burned until I couldn’t see; I struggled to breathe as I ran down a narrow street, seeking cover behind walls. This happened over and over throughout the day. At one point the army cornered journalists and a group of demonstrators in a parking lot then appeared to pursue us until we leapt over a series of backyard walls and scattered. Afterwards the Shabab assembled at various points and began slinging rocks towards the Israeli positions.

By 3 pm I was exhausted. My head was searing with pain and my clothes were immersed in teargas residue. Most of the journalists and many of the international demonstrators had left, so I followed them out of Ni’lin, passing on my way out through an Israeli flying checkpoint that had sealed off the town’s main entrance. With the media and international presence gone, Israeli forces transitioned from tear gas to live bullets.

At approximately 4:30 pm, a 12-year-old girl named Summer Amira was struck in the arm by a .22 caliber bullet from an Israeli rifle as she passed by the window of her home.

Additionally, Col. Ann Wright, one of the USA's most effective war resistors, upon my urging, is going to request that Alaska Sen. Mark Begich follow in the footsteps of Sen. John Kerry, and visit Gaza and the West Bank. Here's a report on that, from Tom Macchia:

Col. Wright will soon return to Palestine with Code Pink. She plans to invite Sen. Begich to go (at Phil Munger's suggestion). We might call and encourage him to join the Code Pink Trip.

III. If you want to be a truthfully informed as anyone in the world on the truth of the torture issue, the best place to start is the blog of Marcy Wheeler, emptywheel. Wheeler's work on the Scooter Libby trial was the best in the USA. She is very thorough in her research, and has created timelines for almost every major issue she has covered over the past four years. Here are two timelines she has created regarding questions on the true history of torture by Americans:

Torture Timeline
Torture document Dump Timeline

Wheeler's blog is niched at firedoglake (where I sometimes write). firedoglake is also one of the top sources for timely, accurate, information on torture issues. Other writer at firedoglake who have excelled in truthful coverage of Americans who torture and sometimes kill the people they torture are:

Jane Hamsher
Jane's facebook page - I Oppose Torture and KagroX is My Hero
Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com
Thinkprogress.org
Secrecy News
Digby's Hullabaloo
Laura Rozen's blog, War and Piece
Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse at Daily Kos
David Thompson at DailyKos

That should keep you busy! I regard the torture debate -- how far should we go in upholding our laws in prosecuting those who have violated them by torturing people? -- to be one of the most important of my lifetime:


image - darkblack

Sermon (a poem)

--- by Mel

It’s Sunday, a day of sermons. Tales have it that Rev. Jerry Prevo will be delivering one of his predictable diatribes against homosexuality from his pulpit at the Anchorage Baptist Temple (broadcast live at 11:00 AM on KCFT-TV — cable channel 19, broadcast channel 35). In counterpoint, this week’s sermon at 2:00 PM at MCC Anchorage will be on “Homosexuality, Christianity & the Clobber Scriptures” used by conservative Christian churches (like ABT) to promote anti-gay messages. I heard yesterday that the Rev. Howard Bess, a longtime ally of LGBT Alaskans & author of Pastor, I Am Gay, will be delivering a guest sermon at Immanuel Presbyterian Church.

My own sermon is below — a poem written in December 1992 in response to the hatred & bigotry propounded by Rev. Prevo & like-minded preachers during the 1992-1993 battle inside and outside the Anchorage Assembly chambers over the same issue facing us today: whether lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transfolk in Anchorage will be afforded equal protection under the law from discrimination on the basis of a fundamental part of our fabric as human beings: our sexual orientations and gender identities.

(With thanks to Stephen Mitchell, whose translation of The Book of Job helped me to find the words.)

Sermon

I

I take as my text the Book of Job –
for are we not like him, innocent,
suffering, crying out for justice?
are we not like him, each of us
surrounded by these righteous,
these pious friends who so love us,
who console us with false accusations,
who comfort us with lies?

Hear them — Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar –
High in their pulpits they proclaim the good news:

Admit your guilt and repent your sin
the merciful Lord God will welcome you in.

What’s your complaint? you got fired from your job?
The good Lord will cast you to fires of damnation.
Your landlord has served you notice of eviction?
The Lord will evict you from heavens’s salvation.
Beat to death in the street? God signed the death warrant.
Infected with AIDS? The Almighty’s decree.
Discrimination — if it happens, which we won’t admit –
is admonishment of your culpability.
God in his compassion has served you fair warning
and if God’s indisposed, well, we’re God’s grand jury.

But admit your guilt and repent your sin
the merciful Lord God will welcome you in.

We’re a large church, but we’re a friendly church.

II

Is there anything so innocent
as the child you were at birth?
tiny and wrinkled
from between your mother’s legs
you cried — I am here! I am alive! –
such was your first yell — joy of birth!

Were you a sinner then?
Was it sin to cry for your mother’s breasts?
were you damned by your desire
for the warmth of your father’s arms?

Years grew you.
Your ears heard the lessons
of your elders who taught you
the rules to live by:
how you took them to heart.
How you chastised yourself
when you stepped out of bounds
in body, in mind.
How you took them to heart

as alone in your bed
you lay in the quiet.
You stared at your fear,
your eyes searched the night.
Your mind search your soul –

evidence – why
examination – am I
condemnation – vilify
queer – cry
–
– such were your tears, pressed into your pillow.
Such were your muffled sobs — grief of damnation

III

Be honest — which of you chose it?
Which of you when first you learned
you were queer — faggot! lezzie! homo! –
accepted that label with joy — celebration?

Which of you did not deny it?
Which of us did not seek to hide it?
Some hide it still — some are yet there.
Who knows silence better than we?
How we take it to heart.

Searching, seeking the root of our anguish –
how many of our sisters, our brothers
swallowed some pills, or took a mighty leap
to lie broken and crushed on the pavement?
How many of us climbed into a bottle
or crucified ourselves on a needle
or lost ourselves in an endless tangle
with the bodies of others such as we?
ecstasy! of orgasm — but after,
as we lay together side by side
in the tangle of sheets we wrestled amongst –
we wrestled alone with our dread
in the silent prisons of each heart, each head.

IV

But listen: you’ve heard of the patience of Job?
He was not so patient. Nor should we be.

How many of us looked to heaven to plead –
to shout — which of us demanded –

Yo, God!
Who’dja make the bet with this time?
Some bet. A sure thing.

Do you get your omnipotent jollies
from fate — create a creature
who by nature is unable
to adhere to your commands
without lying, without denying
what you created us to be?
I must abandon my integrity
or you abandon me?
Do you laugh to see us wriggle
with predestined misery?
Who then is righteous, who the sinner,
oh Lord God Almighty?

If this be heresy, if I blaspheme,
then teach a clear lesson, Lord God Supreme.
Cut short the suspense. Loose your thunderbolt.
Fry me where I stand and end my revolt.

Till then, this gospel I give:
curse God — and live.

V

But no — we curse not God,
but this false image of God they’ve made:
a warped, twisted abridgment

stuffed into a book, a Sunday sermon,
their cramped and distorted souls.

Can God be contracted –
compressed — compacted –
and still be God? Can you
hold in the palm of your hand
the width of the cold winter sky? Can you
forge the evening star into a ring
to adorn your little finger? Can you
play the harp of the northern lights? –
each touch of God’s fingers recolors the strings
in hues none of us has imagined.
Can you hide the summer sun
under a bushel basket? — Listen:
blind can lead blind, but the sun will still shine.

God cannot be enclosed in a book
or in the miser’s soul
which portions out justice in dribbles
and rations out love in crumbs,
then wonders why we starve.

God is too wide and vast and long
and knows us for what we are
as is known the sky, the river, the rocks,
as is knows each creature that breathes.

God is too wide, too vast, too long
and knows us as we are.

[December 29, 1992]