Bert Almon: Two Poems
During the First Gaza War
Köln, July 30, 2006
In the parking lot of Köln Cathedral,
I watched pro-Israeli demonstrators
waving blue and white flags.
The Landespolizei in brown trousers
and tan shirts stood between them and the Palestinians
with their green and black banners.
The demonstrations were disrupted by the bells
for the evening mass. I went into the dark
sanctuary of the Cathedral to listen.
The homily was shot through with the words
Krieg and Frieden, delivered from the high pulpit.
Behind an iron grate, the largest reliquary in the West
holds the crowned skulls of the Three Kings
in golden sarcophagi, stacked one over two.
The kings are refugees from Persia
via Constantinople and Milan
through a series of pious thefts. Across the aisle,
the Milanese Madonna and her baby
wear their own crowns, and she is besceptered:
no further gifts are required.
Her halo is a wire circle with twelve stars.
And where did I find my living Madonna?
As the…
Madam: Archbishop Fisher (July-August 2024) does not resist the attacks on his church by the political, social or scientific atheists and those who insist on not being told what to do.
Aug 29 2024
6 mins
To claim Aborigines have the world's oldest continuous culture is to misunderstand the meaning of culture, which continuously changes over time and location. For a culture not to change over time would be a reproach and certainly not a cause for celebration, for it would indicate that there had been no capacity to adapt. Clearly this has not been the case
Aug 20 2024
23 mins
A friend and longtime supporter of Quadrant, Clive James sent us a poem in 2010, which we published in our December issue. Like the Taronga Park Aquarium he recalls in its 'mocked-up sandstone cave' it's not to be forgotten
Aug 16 2024
2 mins