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
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