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Tuesday 15 October 2013

Guantanamo Bay: The Hunger Strikes - a response

Today I watched an animation produced by the Guardian based on testimonies of hunger strikers at Guantanamo.  This afternoon I went to a writing group and learned about a Malaysian poem structure called The Pantoum.  There is a particular pattern of repetition.  We were asked to write about something that had impacted us in the last couple of days.  So this is what I wrote:

Photo credit: http://www.freedompress.org.uk/news/wp-content/uploads/Freedom-Guantanamo-Bay.jpg
source: muftah.org
H Strikes G

Razor wire coils endlessly
A black mark upon the Caribbean sea
Orange mocks the theft of dignity
Ahmed chokes

A black mark upon the Caribbean sea
Rubber snake forced down tender tubes
Ahmed chokes
Fuel injected into resisting guts

Rubber snake forced down tender tubes
Razor teeth drip with canine slobber
Fuel injected into resisting guts
Strain at chains; strain at collar

Razor teeth drip with canine slobber
The dogs are treated better
Strain at chains; strain at collar
Samir only wants to see his family again

The dogs are treated better
Last shred of memory ripped from the wall
Samir only wants to see his family again
Cleared for release; they remain detained

Last shreds of memory ripped from the wall
Orange mocks the theft of dignity
Cleared for release; they remain detained
Razor wire coils endlessly

3 comments:

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

thought i'd do a comment as i always love yours... just to say goooood poem. i like it a lot and you have undeniable skills x

Unknown said...

Ah thanks little one :-)