Taking a risk-

[mary_j_59]

I am rather upset about the state of the world - the world news, of course, is beyond horrible. I don't even want to comment on it. But I've also been reading about the plagiarism debacle in the Harry Potter fandom, and this has persuaded me that, in general, it is a very poor idea to put one's original works online. One of the boys in writing club wanted me to post the revisions of a couple of fairy tales I've been working on. But I do hope to publish them someday, so, even though very few people read this journal, I don't want to take the risk.

However, there is one original work which I think deserves an audience, and which is not likely to be published elsewhere - it does not fit in with the book of poems I'm working on, and I can't imagine anyone stealing a poem, in any case. There's no profit in it. So - because of the state of the world - I am going to post this one poem. It was written in 2004, after the Abu Ghraib scandal, and is copyrighted to me - Mary Johnson.


Innocent Victims


There are those who say
There are no innocent victims.
Thus, Odysseus killed those servant girls
Raped by the suitors.
Their shame was their guilt.
(He had none.)

Thus, Fatima, raped by the invaders,
Begged the Mujahideen to kill her.
(They did.)

Do warriors feel shame? Do soldiers?
Or is it only the weak, the women and children
Who feel it?

Shame is a heavy burden,
More crushing than guilt.
Those who carry it
Can neither raise their heads
Nor straighten their backs.
Their footsteps drag; their eyes are blinded
By its weight.

The heroes and the warriors
Do not know this burden.
If they did,
Could they carry it?

They, the judges,
Have no shame.
Their guilt is
The shame of others.
(But they do not know it.)



Mary Johnson 2004, in memory of all the innocent victims. May there be peace, and may we help to bring it.

Comments

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

Thanks!