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Post by Aish on Feb 8, 2008 7:24:31 GMT -5
In the desert
demons have faces and guns
instead of Bibles and articulate lies.
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Post by Yossarian on Feb 9, 2008 15:26:52 GMT -5
I looked at this yesterday but wanted to brood on it some. And while I'm still a little lost in the ambiguity (as I'm sure you intended), this is a really interesting piece of writing.
Here's the way I'm reading this: the "demons" are Christians who are in the army; at home, they hide themselves behind the Bible and their "articulate lies" (chilling line, by the way) of not only Christianity but also their sermons of love and peace. And yet they support - and fight - a war that completely demolishes everything they've preached. They are every bit as dangerous at home as they are "in the desert": reading through your parallelism, their "faces" (meaning what they are, or who we see them as) are "Bibles" when they are at home. Their weapons in the desert are guns; their weapons at home are their articulate lies. The demons are every bit as dangerous here as preaching machines as they are there as killing machines. They are simply in disguise.
Does that make sense? Am I completely off the mark? I just realized that I could probably go on for a couple of pages about how I'm reading this. It's a difficult and challenging poem, but I think it's one of the best I've ever seen from you. Each line is full of meaning and the symbolism is powerful.
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Post by acronymph on Feb 9, 2008 19:07:26 GMT -5
The first two lines rang like bells to me.
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Post by Aish on Feb 19, 2008 8:09:56 GMT -5
Partially correct, Yoss. Double - edged as usual, lol
Take it literally first - then go down the road of quasi-Christians who refuse to think for themselves, believe what they hear/are taught instead of seeking for themselves, talk out both sides of their mouths, and poison others with their hearts who know nothing of GOD or truth.
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