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11 Nov 2003
p. On Remembrance Sunday, I managed to phone Mr. Bsag during the 2 minute silence--my watch was fast, and I had no other time-keeping reference. I felt terrible about that. Two minutes of standing still and thinking about the horror of war and the quiet courage of those who find themselves caught up in it--soldiers and civilians--isn't much to ask. To make up for my inadvertent thoughtlessness, I was doubly careful to observe the two minute silence today.
p. We heard a radio documentary on Sunday called "Unicorns, Almost":http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/religion/remembrance.shtml about the Second World War poet, Keith Douglas. He joined up at the age of 19, and was killed by a tiny fragment of shrapnel at the age of 24. One of his poems particularly struck me; "Vergissmeinnicht":http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/710.html has all the hard and visceral force of ["Das Boot":http://www.dasboot.com/]. Douglas doesn't shield us from the pain and horror, and we have a duty not to look away. I wish this poem was historical, no longer relevant, but the tragedy is that it could have been written this morning.
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Even if you didn't understand German, you'd get that ...----- Unfortunately true. This tragedy still exists!
by Vinny @ 26/11/2003 9:11 pm • Permalink •