the habit of rainy nights press

Stew Albert, legendary sixties activist, and one of the contributors to our book, Raising Our Voices: An Anthology of Oregon Poets Against the War died yesterday of cancer. Stew was an important cultural figure for my generation, and his spirit lives on!!!

There is a very nice obituary on common dreams

Here is his poem from our book:

Kids
by Stew Albert

Iraqi children
dead and wounded and terrified
paying painfull prices
for Bush Gang’s military chutzpah.
Dubya spreading Reagan’s Revolution at gun point.
Iraqi oil will be denationalized and sold on the cheap.
Heil Hummer!

If surviving Iraqi kids behave themselves
we will give them chocolate
and maybe even let them drive our jeep.

Teenage American soldiers
looting a dictator’s palace,
cheered on in the embedded mind and headlines,
doing what was always forbidden,
killing people who piss you off
and stealing their pretty trinkets.
Our kids will also pay a price for this war
when after the home coming parade
feeling unemployed and unappreciated
they play at Baghdad in the suburbs.