[Peace-discuss] Draft flyer (corrected) for AWARE demo, Aug. 3

[Carl G. Estabrook via Peace-discuss]

THE GATEKEEPER'S LAMENT

[From Aeschylus' "Agamemnon," 458 BC,  translation by Ian Johnston]

[The scene is in Argos immediately in front of the steps leading up to the main doors of the royal palace. In front of the palace there are statues of gods. 
At the start of the play, the Gatekeeper is prone on the roof of the palace resting his head on his arms. It is just before dawn.]

      I pray the gods will give me some relief
      and end this weary job. One long full year
      I’ve been lying here, on this rooftop,
      the palace of the sons of Atreus,
      resting on my arms, just like a dog.
      I’ve come to know the night sky, every star,
      the powers we see glittering in the sky,
      bringing winter and summer to us all,
      as the constellations rise and sink.
      I’m still looking for that signal flare,                                      10
      the fiery blaze from Troy, announcing
      it’s been taken. These are my instructions                                        
      from the queen. She has a fiery heart,
      the determined resolution of a man.
      When I set my damp, restless bed up here,
      I never dream, for I don’t fall asleep.
      No. Fear comes instead and stands beside me,
      so I can’t shut my eyes and get some rest.
      If I try to sing or hum a tune,
      something to do instead of trying to sleep,                           20
      since I’m always awake, I start to weep,
      as I lament what’s happened to this house,
      where things are not being governed well,
      not like they used to be. How I wish
      my watching could end happily tonight,                                            
      with good news brought by fire blazing
      through this darkness.

[The signal fire the Watchman has been waiting for suddenly appears. The Watchman springs to his feet]

                                                 Fire gleaming in the night!
      What a welcome sight! Light of a new day—
      you’ll bring on many dancing choruses
      right here in Argos, celebrations                                             30
      of this joyful news.

[Shouting]

                                 It’s over! It’s over!
      I must call out to wake the queen,
      Clytaemnestra, Agamemnon’s wife,
      to get her out of bed, so she can raise
      a shout of joy as soon as possible
      inside the palace, welcoming this fire—
      if indeed the city of Troy’s fallen,
      as this signal fire seems to indicate.                                                   
      For my part, I’ll start things off by dancing,
      treating my king’s good fortune as my own.                          40
      I’ve had a lucky dice roll, triple six,
      thanks to this fiery signal . . . .

[His mood suddenly changes to something much more hesitant and reserved]

                                                                    But I hope
      the master of this house may come home soon,
      so I can grasp his welcome hand in mine.
      As for all the rest, I’m saying nothing.
      A great ox stands on my tongue. But this house,
      if it could speak, might tell some stories.
      I speak to those who know about these things.
      For those who don’t, there’s nothing I remember...


On Aug 3, 2014, at 9:17 AM, Stephen Francis <stephenf1113 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> CGE's statement is pure Zionist gatekeeping.
> It attempts to take the heat off Israel in its territorial expansion nightmare experienced by the Palestinians.  The only way they can get the world's attention to Israel's murderous expansionism is to fire rockets into Israel.  Nothing else has ever worked...
> 
> His reference to the Nuremberg Tribunal is just another attempt to leverage the Holocaust Hoax (less than a million Jews died in Nazi Germany ... and it was due to typhus and the chaos of war, not an extermination policy)
>  and keep the troops (local protesters) in line.
> CGE is not a peace activist. He is an apologist for Israel and is distorting our democracy.
> ....

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