Agreed, David, John.
Bill
On 08/02/2015, at 8:29 AM, David Bircumshaw wrote:
> Well said, and writ, Mr Kinsella
>
>
> djb
>
> On 7 February 2015 at 16:39, Douglas Barbour <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> and then there’s the comments…
>>
>> but I’m afraid the pen won’t be mightier here…
>>
>> Doug
>> On Feb 6, 2015, at 1:20 PM, Max Richards <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>>
>> http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/06/nothing-is-made-new-my-poem-and-plea-that-clemency-be-granted-to-sukumaran-and-chan
>>>
>>> Dear President Joko Widodo,
>>>
>>> I am the Australian poet, writer and academic, John Kinsella. I spent a
>> couple of months travelling through Indonesia when I was young, my mother
>> speaks Indonesian, and I have long been interested in Indonesian poetry,
>> theatre, music and fiction. I write this letter out of respect for the
>> cultures of Indonesia, and for your role as president of the Indonesian
>> people.
>>>
>>> I am writing to ask for clemency for the prisoners Myuran Sukumaran and
>> Andrew Chan. I am writing a poem as part of my plea, and I hope it will be
>> read and heard. Personally, I do not believe in the death penalty under any
>> circumstances and I plead for all those on death row. I plead with you to
>> halt the executions.
>>>
>>> And in the case of the two Australians mentioned here, I think even
>> within the context of the Indonesian justice system and the “hardline”
>> position you are personally taking on crimes of this nature, the condemned
>> have demonstrated a desire to assist others in the reformation of their
>> characters and to accept their own wrongdoing. Their souls exist in this
>> living world to act as a guide to others to improve themselves and not take
>> wrong paths. To execute them would be to deny the lessons they can pass on
>> to others both inside the prison and outside. To kill them only shows
>> finality and loss, and that death dictates life.
>>>
>>> I beg you to consider the strength of offering life to the condemned, so
>> they can show others how much to value life. Clemency is a gift of the
>> spirit, and I feel that for a leader to show clemency is a sign of strength
>> and compassion that reflects on his people and is reflected by the people
>> back at him.
>>>
>>> Youth register these things, and rather than shocking them into fear by
>> killing/execution, which only fills their heads with thoughts of death, by
>> showing clemency you show that even the condemned can bring positives to
>> the world.
>>>
>>> Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were wrong and committed crimes — they
>> know they were wrong, but please let their lives be granted to them so they
>> can show the world their gratitude for having life and how much it is
>> worth. This will lead others to question their own actions, and that is the
>> most potent way of preventing drug crime.
>>>
>>> I beg you to hear this plea and thank you for hearing me out.
>>>
>>> Yours sincerely,
>>> Professor John Kinsella
>>>
>>> Nothing is Made New
>>> for those killed by “firing squad” in the name of justice in Indonesia
>> and a plea for clemency for those awaiting this fate
>>>
>>> Heavy weather over the rainforest
>>> heavy weather over plantations and prisons;
>>> when I think of Nusakambangan
>>> I think of the black egret and mouse deer.
>>> Midnight coats the sea with vitriol —
>>> glass waves shatter with each crack of the air;
>>> when colonial overlords withdrew, the bones
>>> of those they’d crushed made walls for the future.
>>> Prayers for clemency can’t break free,
>>> trapped in the wood of buildings and furniture;
>>> midnight ends one day but doesn’t begin another,
>>> the living are made to suffer their end in sight.
>>> Heavy weather is over the rainforest
>>> heavy weather is over plantations and prisons;
>>> when I think of Nusakambangan
>>> I think of the black egret and mouse deer.
>>> John Kinsella has delivered his letter and poem to Indonesian president
>> Joko Widodo.
>>>
>>
>> Douglas Barbour
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>> Recent publications: (With Sheila E Murphy) Continuations & Continuation 2
>> (UofAPress).
>> Recording Dates (Rubicon Press).
>>
>> that we are only
>> as we find out we are
>>
>> Charles Olson
>>
>
>
>
> --
> David Joseph Bircumshaw
> Website and A Chide's Alphabet
> http://www.staplednapkin.org.uk
> The Animal Subsides http://www.arrowheadpress.co.uk/books/animal.html
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>
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