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Thread: Afghan Widows

  1. #1
    mazHur mazHur's Avatar
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    Exclamation Afghan Widows

    Two sides of a picture:

    This is a reply to the poem, Occupation, by Eliza Griswold



    Afghan Widows
    by mazHur

    Everything is possible in war
    but love;
    the looming eagles wouldn't spare
    the dove.

    For a loaf of bread or fifteen cents
    will sell
    the helpless widows that men turn out
    in this hell.

    No choice but to die or to live
    for their orphan kids
    Bare hands, bare feet, bare body,
    life on skids.

    Amazed not be at the sex they sell
    for their survival,
    for more or less, where isn't it sold,
    can anyone tell?

    As long as the bigger fish sport
    the oceans blue,
    how can the smaller fish feel safe,
    to be true.

    The dichotomy of the occupiers
    and the occupied
    makes whores out of women unless
    they'd died.

    Weigh not the worth of a woman
    from her constraints,
    men, yes men, spoil the picture
    which God paints.


    ------------ --------- oOo------ --------- --------- --------- -

    Occupation

    by Eliza Griswold

    The prostitutes in Kabul tap their feet
    beneath their faded burqas in the heat.

    For bread or fifteen cents, they'll take a man to bed
    their husbands dead, their seven kids unfed

    and thanks to occupation, rents have risen twentyfold,
    their chickens, pots and carpets have been sold.

    Two years ago, the Talibs favored boys and left the girls alone.
    A woman then was worth her weight in stone.

    "Occupation" by Eliza Griswold, from Wideawake Field. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008.
    ===============-
    When asked how World War III would be fought, Einstein replied that he didn't know. But he knew how World War IV would be fought: With sticks and stones.
    -(:===============

  2. #2
    Haribol Acharya blazeofglory's Avatar
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    I can visualize the situation in Afghanistan vividly.

    “Those who seek to satisfy the mind of man by hampering it with ceremonies and music and affecting charity and devotion have lost their original nature””

    “If water derives lucidity from stillness, how much more the faculties of the mind! The mind of the sage, being in repose, becomes the mirror of the universe, the speculum of all creation.

  3. #3
    The Poetic Warrior Dark Muse's Avatar
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    A very powerful peice, indeed quite moving.

    Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. ~ Edgar Allan Poe

  4. #4
    mazHur mazHur's Avatar
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    Thank you,Muse and Glory, for reading the poem and commentin which I sincerely appreciate.
    ===============-
    When asked how World War III would be fought, Einstein replied that he didn't know. But he knew how World War IV would be fought: With sticks and stones.
    -(:===============

  5. #5
    All are at the crossroads qimissung's Avatar
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    It is so sad. I thank you for your compassion, mazHur.
    "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its' own reason for existing." ~ Albert Einstein
    "Remember, no matter where you go, there you are." Buckaroo Bonzai
    "Some people say I done alright for a girl." Melanie Safka

  6. #6
    ésprit de l’escalier DanielBenoit's Avatar
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    Very moving, it completely absorbed me.
    The Moments of Dominion
    That happen on the Soul
    And leave it with a Discontent
    Too exquisite — to tell —
    -Emily Dickinson
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVW8GCnr9-I
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckGIvr6WVw4

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by mazHur View Post
    Two sides of a picture:



    Amazed not be at the sex they sell
    for their survival,
    for more or less, where isn't it sold,
    can anyone tell?

    Quote Originally Posted by mazHur View Post
    Two sides of a picture:


    Weigh not the worth of a woman
    from her constraints,
    men, yes men, spoil the picture
    which God paints.

    Your reply to Eliza's poem in poem itself is powerful and the way you portrayed the gloomy picture of Afgan Widows and their poor situation is vivid!

  8. #8
    mazHur mazHur's Avatar
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    Hi All
    Thanks you very much...
    I sincerely appreciate your comments
    regards
    Maz
    ===============-
    When asked how World War III would be fought, Einstein replied that he didn't know. But he knew how World War IV would be fought: With sticks and stones.
    -(:===============

  9. #9
    chercheur ~Sophia~'s Avatar
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    So sad that this true of every nation where war and outright poverty rule. Very moving mazHur!

  10. #10
    Not politically correct Pendragon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mazHur View Post
    Two sides of a picture:

    This is a reply to the poem, Occupation, by Eliza Griswold



    Afghan Widows
    by mazHur

    Everything is possible in war
    but love;
    Those first lines set the pace for an excellent reply to the poem you posted
    Some of us laugh
    Some of us cry
    Some of us smoke
    Some of us lie
    But it's all just the way
    that we cope with our lives...

  11. #11
    mazHur mazHur's Avatar
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    Thanks, sofia and Pen.
    best/maz
    ===============-
    When asked how World War III would be fought, Einstein replied that he didn't know. But he knew how World War IV would be fought: With sticks and stones.
    -(:===============

  12. #12
    King of Dreams MorpheusSandman's Avatar
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    It's quite powerful; I like it even more than the poem that inspired it. I would only change the Yoda speak of "Amazed not be".
    "As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light of meaning in the darkness of mere being." --Carl Gustav Jung

    "To absent friends, lost loves, old gods, and the season of mists; and may each and every one of us always give the devil his due." --Neil Gaiman; The Sandman Vol. 4: Season of Mists

    "I'm on my way, from misery to happiness today. Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh" --The Proclaimers

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