Cedars of Lebanon

[morgan_dhu]

Out of Sidon and Tyre came the cedars, the cypress, the stones
for the House of the Lord
for the pillars and floors of the Hall of Justice
for the honour and beauty of the City of Peace.

So give orders that cedars of Lebanon
be cut for me.

Through years and wars and the blood of believers
worn thread-bare
torn apart
washed away.
Where is justice?
Where is peace?
Where is the mercy of God?
Missiles fall
on the houses, the airports, the highways, the children.

Open your doors, O Lebanon,
so that fire may devour your cedars!

Missiles fall
on the hillsides and valleys.
All is flame.

The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.

With the last of the cedars of Lebanon
we build coffins to bury her children.

Comments

[wolfinthewood.livejournal.com]

That one strikes home.

Sounds as if you know the Old Testament rather well?

[morgan-dhu.livejournal.com]

I was watching the news (Euronews, I think it was, it's had the best coverage I can access on the invasion of Lebanon, so I've been watching it more than Canadian or US channels or BBC World), feeling that I had to write something but not knowing where to start, and then one of the reporters made a comment about how, despite the "surgical accuracy" claims being made, a number of missiles were missing their presumed targets, and that some of these were falling on the hillsides and starting forest fires. And there was my core conceit for the poem, handed to me on a platter.

I wouldn't say I know the Old Testament well. I have a fairly strong grounding in most of the classical allusion/symbology systems used in English literature, which of course includes the basic set of Biblical allusions, I have read the Old Testament as a work of literature and cultural history, and I am not afraid to use a concordance. ;-)

[trinityva.livejournal.com]

This is an amazing poem.

[morgan-dhu.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

I saw a brief news story about some of the missiles going "off target" and starting forest fires on the hillsides, in the midst of all the human carnage and misery, and the whole set of images just grew from there.